A Frozen Adventure
by DawnMarch
Summary: Elsa, Kristoff, and Anna are setting off to the country of Engledan to discuss trade routes but find that their adventure has to stop in the Southern Isles. While there they uncover something horrifying and soon they are fighting to save someone they had once all learned to hate. Can they get over past grudges and see beyond the darkness in their own hearts?
1. Chapter 1

Hello! This is my first ever attempt at writing a fanfic so any advice is welcome but flames will be ignored! There won't be excessively graphic descriptions but be warned that there is a bit of violence...obviously. So, hope you enjoy! Oh yeah, and I own none of this. If I did I wouldn't be working two jobs to pay for an apartment with broken doors. So I hope you enjoy!

He hurt. Everywhere. He heard the faint clicking of a heeled boot somewhere above him and flinched. A deep shame and burning humiliation flooded through him. He tried to strengthen his resolve, to keep just a sliver of his old dignity but when he heard another click of the shoe coming closer he flinched and tried to shrink into himself. "Pathetic. You're just pathetic Hans." He whispered softly to himself. "This is like that one time when I stole Robert's candy." He smirked in amusement and suddenly started laughing softly, he could do nothing to stop himself and he kept laughing harder and harder until his already sore sides ached. He laughed until he started crying. He felt like he was vomiting his emotions out but he could do nothing to stop himself.

"As if we didn't already know how foolish you were. This is just the icing on the cake." A deadly voice came from the front of the cell and Hans' sobs immediately stopped as his eyes quickly flashed up in fear. The emotions he'd been heaving out suddenly froze as if Queen Elsa's ice were flooding through him. No actually, he thought. Elsa's ice was different. Even when being used to attack from fear, it was still graceful and powerful. This was a cruel ice meant to hurt and sting as it struck sensitive nerves. This was the ice of fear that his brothers could wield like expert swordsmen.

"Has madness already begun to plague my poor baby brother?" the words were cruel and spoken in mock amusement. Hans said nothing. If this had happened seven months ago when he'd first been dragged down here he'd have snarled at Theodo or made a scathing comeback. Now he could say nothing, just watch his brother with a weary dread. His muscles were all bunched tightly and he couldn't stop his body from betraying his fear by shaking ever so slightly.

Theodo seemed to notice Hans' fear and he began to laugh loudly. Hans flinched at the sound and tried to curl up against the wall he was bound to. "_Please. Please. Please."_ Hans thought desperately, begging for someone, anyone to just let his brother laugh at him and leave.

"Perhaps some heat stroke has set your brains on fire? Hmm?" Theodo was teasing Hans, laughing once more at his flinches, his shaking, and his whispered pleas. Theodo smirked cruelly once more before turning around and walking away.

Hans let out the breath he had been holding and tried to sink to the ground in relief. Tears leaked out of his eyes as his muscles relaxed. Only to immediately tighten as the cell door swung open revealing his brother who filled the doorway like a massive bear. Hans' eyes widened in panic as he caught what was in his brother's hand. A bucket of ice.

"Let me help you cool off, little brother." Theodo mocked as he advanced on his brother.

Hans strained against the chains that held him, trying to back away as far as he could. "No, no, no, no" he murmured, shaking his head furiously as he did so. "NO! PLEASE NO!" he screamed but his screams fell on deaf ears. The servants who were passing by the dungeons scrambled away quickly as if the sounds would come out and grab them. Like a pack of wolves who'd scented blood, Hans' brothers were drawn to the screaming and soon they too joined their brother down in the darkness as Hans' screams droned on.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wait. What?" Elsa asked incredulously. Anna was scowling at the man in the door who was shuffling from foot to foot awkwardly.

"I….umm…I said that the L-Lord of Engledan s-says he wishes to me-meet you in p-person." the man stammered out. He really didn't want to be the one giving the news. It was after a very stressful game of straws which he had lost that had him being the bearer of the news. It was a well-known fact that the Queen didn't really enjoy being called from her home to pander to the wishes of other nobles. Actually, the Queen didn't really enjoy leaving Arendalle at all. Years of living as a recluse had made her appreciative of moments of privacy and leaving to another's home always meant that she would get none. Knowing this, the poor man didn't want to be the one to tell her that the Lord of Engledan refused to discuss trade routes unless he got to meet the Queen personally and treat her to a royal reception at his family home. Right now the poor man didn't know which frightened him more; the slowly growing frost emanating from the Queen's hands or the scorching glare from her sister.

"I….I am s-sorry your majesty." He said meekly, trying to keep his voice from cracking, which it had been doing quite often lately (much to the amusement of the other squires). Elsa seemed to be jolted from internal musings as she straightened up and actually looked at the young man in front of her. The ice growing on her desk quickly started vaporizing and she gave the boy a soft smile.

"It's not your fault. I'll just have to make a few new arrangements is all. You may go now and thank you for telling me." she said politely, nodding her head to indicate he was free to leave. He let out a soft sigh and bowed gratefully before dashing out of the room. A blush had begun to creep over his face. When the Queen smiled, she was quite beautiful. The squire blushed even more and ran just a little faster.

"What a pig headed idiot!" Anna fumed. Elsa turned and gave her a confused look.

"The squire?"

"No! The stupid Lord of Engle- of Eeagle- of…whatever his stupid country is called." She said and pouted.

"Trade routes with his country are important to Arendalle and it is custom to meet with your trade partners so you can fully explain what you expect from one another and meet an agreement that benefits both countries." Elsa said calmly. Inside her head she agreed with Anna.

"Well why couldn't he come here." Anna grumped.

"Because he wishes to make an impression and that's more easily achieved in his own home."

"Well what about your impression?" Anna asked, genuinely curious. She'd never really been one for politics or foreign affairs but somehow Elsa could make it all seem so interesting.

Elsa turned to Anna and smirked before lifting up her hand. With a simple wave she decorated the left wall with tendrils of frost and delicate icicles. With another graceful sweep of her hand the frost and ice moved and formed the crest of Arendalle.

"I really don't think my impression is something you need to worry about." Elsa said confidently.

"You are amazing!" Anna cried and jumped at her sister, hugging her tightly. Elsa laughed and returned the hug. She enjoyed the warmth her sister always brought with her. Anna was like summer and spring, full of life and warmth. How she had missed her sister all those years. Inside her room had always been cold and more like death. There were moments when she could still feel that cold, empty feeling creeping into her but one hug from Anna and it was as if liquid sunshine were pouring through her veins.

"Awwww. Would you look at that?" came the voice from the door. Elsa and Anna turned around to see Kristoff smiling at them. He knew how happy it made Anna when her sister would hug her. It was a reminder that no more doors would be locked to keep them apart, that her sister was still there and that she still loved her. Seeing them together always reminded him of his own family.

"Kristoff!" Anna cried and let go of Elsa to run and hug the giant man. Kristoff grinned brightly and held onto her, swinging her into the air while still clutching her tightly to him.

"So how was the ice?" Anna asked.

"Oh you know, cold, icy, wet." He said as he still held onto her.

"A master wordsmith." Elsa remarked teasingly. Kristoff turned slightly red while Anna stuck out her tongue playfully.

"So what was with the squire?" he asked. Anna's face immediately soured.

"Oh, it's just the Lord of Engledan. He wants to meet at his home to discuss trade." Elsa said calmly.

"Isn't this the week you and Anna and I were going to go on our little adventure?" Kristoff asked.

Elsa froze where she stood, her eyes widening slightly. She had completely forgotten about that. Anna had been waiting for this trip for months and had planned everything out. They were all going to go out and head to the North Mountain and escape the castle for a few days and just enjoy being together. How could she forget? No wonder Anna had been so furious. They'd spend their days together but the duties of being a Queen had often dragged her away. This was supposed to be just a few days with each other, without the hassles of a royal life. Now it would have to wait….again.

"Anna I'm sorry." Elsa pleaded.

Anna narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Why are YOU sorry?"

"I forgot about our trip and now-" Elsa broke off.

Kristoff looked from one sister to the other.

"Why can't you both go?" He asked. Both girls turned to look at him.

"Wait, what?" Anna asked.

"No, he's right. You're a royal member of this family and that means that you can come with me! It won't be quite the same but you and I can still have fun together!" Elsa said brightly. Already her mind was going through everything they could do.

"But…what about Kristoff?" As much as Anna loved her sister, she also loved Kristoff and the idea of not seeing him for a few weeks was almost enough for her to let Elsa leave by herself.

"Oh I'll be ok-" Elsa cut him off. "He can come with us as a royal escort!"

"This is going to be so much fun!" Anna cried out happily. She'd have everyone she cared about in one boat, well, everyone who was human that is. Olaf and Sven would have to remain in Arendalle to 'watch over' things while they were gone.

"We can go swimming"

"And have picnics"

"And dancing" the two sisters kept listing everything they would have to do while Kristoff stared on with wide eyes.

"Wait, What?" he asked. "I'm going with you?"

"Of course." The two sisters said together as if there really was no doubt about it. Kristoff sighed heavily before caving in. He didn't really want to lose Anna for a few weeks anyways.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Anna cried out happily.


	3. Chapter 3

Hans hung his head. Cold water still dripped from his hair and slithered down his bare back making him shiver. He ached again, and he just wanted to lay down and give in to the exhaustion but that wouldn't happen. His arms were still chained to the wall. The chains were long enough to let him sit down with his arms high above his head, but not long enough to lay down. Sleep didn't come easy. When it did it wasn't sleep so much as blacking out while spots swam before his eyes.

He could still hear the echoes of laughter from his brothers. He shivered but not from the water. Some part of him desperately wanted to pull out his pride and use it to defend himself as he had so many times before but the greater part of him wanted to live. So it was with every passing day that he gave in to the idea of self-preservation and with each day he lost a little bit more of himself. If this kept going on he may one day wake up to find himself to be no more than an animal. He really couldn't make himself care.

The water from his hair finally started leaking down the front of his face. He waited with an agonizing patience for the drop to near his cracked and bloodied lips. Slowly it wound down and with a quick flick of his tongue he dragged it in and savored the achingly cold drop. His dry throat begged for more and he willed his hair to release another drop. He thought back to earlier and dropped his head in shame.

Theodo had brought a bucket full of ice water. It wasn't a small bucket by any means. This was just a few measurements away from being a small barrel. Or maybe it was a barrel, his brothers had always lied to him and why should now be any different. After Hans had screamed and pleaded he had watched with horror as his other brothers had tried to enter the room. None were as menacingly large as Theodo but they all had a few inches on him. He had cried and pleaded and they had met each tear, each plea with a jeer or a taunt or a slap. When Horace slapped him it always managed to send his head flying into the wall.

At the memory of the slaps Hans moved his jaw around, feeling the swelling on the right side of his face. It would most definitely bruise. He could also feel his right eye swelling up and it kept leaking every so often. Desperately he licked at the tears, ignoring the salty taste and trying to focus on the fact that it was liquid. He hung his head lower than before. He was so thirsty and now his brothers knew it.

After they'd slapped him Theodo hauled the bucket of ice and water near his head. He'd squirmed from their hands as if their touch would burn him but they all managed to latch on to some piece of him and held him mostly still. He was still trying to squirm away even though he knew it was futile.

"What's the matter Hans? Scared of a little ice?" Thomas jeered.

"You think the Ice Queen is coming back for you?" Horace had laughed.

"Come on Hans. You can brave the ice can't you?" Matthew said while poking him sharply in his bruised ribs. Hans let out a pained groan, much to the enjoyment of the others.

"Now, now." Theodo's voice was soft but commanding and the others all fell silent. "We are merely trying to cool down our little hot head of a brother."

Hans couldn't stop shaking. His eyes darted from his brother to the water. Up and down like a seasick roller coaster. "Please?" he whispered pitifully.

"Of course we'll help you." Theodo said with mock concern. All of the brothers smiled maliciously. All were eager to 'help'.

With a speed few knew he possessed, Theodo reached across the bucket and grabbed Han's hair. The bucket was tall enough to accompany the chains length and soon Theodo had Hans' head deep in the frigid water. The ice had been so cold it felt like it was searing his skin, making him scream into the water. His brothers had laughed at the watery sound. Hans had felt his breath freeze in his throat and no air was coming out. Spots were swimming before him. It was too cold. He couldn't breathe. Suddenly his head was pulled out and he let out a horrified shriek before taking in gasping breaths. They all laughed heartily and soon he was plunged back in to the water.

Again he was pulled out to take in greedy lungfuls of air and when he was plunged back in again his brain groggily reminded him how thirsty he was. Feeling decidedly desperate to have so much water being literally dangled in front of his face was too much and he opened his mouth to fill it was as much water as he could. The oxygen fled his body much quicker with this act and soon he was flailing like a fish for want of air and Theodo had obliged by yanking his head back up. He had quickly taken the opportunity to swallow the water and gasp for air.

"I think the poor boy is thirsty." One of his brothers said with faux concern.

"Let's help him then."

"We shouldn't let him get so thirsty."

"Poor Hans, do you need some more water?"

They were all laughing and Hans felt his skin prickle as a deep fear slithered around inside of him. He knew what to expect when the bucket of ice water came in but he had no idea what came from his brothers knowing of his thirst. Theodo let go of his hair and he barely had time to be grateful for that when another of his brothers latched on and yanked back so hard and so far he felt his breath hitch and was sure a few red strands had just been pulled from his scalp. A few tears slipped down his face but not a sound escaped his lips. Without warning another hand pinched his nose shut tightly and Hans quickly struggled to escape. They were going to try something, a new form of torture and he didn't want to find out what it was.

"Stop struggling you little brat." Anthony hissed into his ear. But Hans refused to listen and without warning a bony knee slammed into his stomach. The hands in his hair refused to let his head drop and he let out an agonized groan that came out as more of a wheeze as he choked on his own air. The little bit of food he'd been allowed a few days ago almost felt like it was threatening to come back up. At least something was.

"Now are you going to show some manners?" Theodo's voice was almost patient sounding. Hans said nothing but he stopped struggling. A pair of hands reached out and steadied his chin. More tears fell out of Hans' eyes as he silently cried.

He scrunched his eyes shut and inwardly begged for this to end. Without warning some boiling hot water was dumped in his mouth. It scalded the sensitive skin of his throat and burned his tongue. Splashes landed on his cheek and left small red welts where they'd landed. Hans' eyes flew open as he tried to scream but his brother's grips tightened. He pulled against his chains furiously but his hands were useless and his brothers were so much stronger than he was. They had been stronger than him even before he'd been thrown down in this cell to rot. Hans was left to cry and beg for mercy as they kept pouring more and more burning water down his throat.

Finally, Theodo raised his hand and the brothers all let Hans go. His head slumped and he tried to pitifully cough up the scalding water. His whole body shook and deep inside he wanted to just vomit it all out but who knew when or if somebody would ever clean it up and he'd be left to sit in the stink. The smell of blood and sweat was already bad enough. He bit on his already bleeding lip to stop the water from coming back out. He didn't know if his raw throat could even handle the acid.

Theodo again grabbed a hold of Hans' hair and again he was forced head first into the bucket of melting ice water. His brothers jeered and swore using a language that would make a sailor's ears blush in shame. Again and again he was dunked into water so cold it burned. The ice struck his cheek and dug into the skin with frozen splinters. Minutes stretched into hours. After every dunk another brother would take the opportunity to kick him in the sides and deny him some greatly needed air. Finally Theodo declared that that would be enough for the day and they all left leaving Hans gasping and shivering furiously.

Theodo remained in the doorway, blocking out the light from behind him. He was like a giant shadow with eyes that glittered malevolently. He carefully took the bucket and dumped just enough to form a small puddle just inches from Hans.

"In case you get thirsty again, you need not ask. We are very busy you know, running a kingdom and all of that." He had intended for the words to hurt, which they did, but Hans was just too tired and too preoccupied with getting oxygen into his lungs to care "So next time you can just acquire water yourself."

With that he stepped out of the cell and the metal door swung shut behind him with a heavy groan. Hans felt a surge of gratitude as he heard his brother's steps slowly click away. He waited and waited and finally there was the sound of another being shut, the door to the dungeons. Hans hung his head and cried softly. Tears fell from his swollen eyes as he gasped and shuddered and sobbed. This was Hell and some part of him couldn't stop reminding Hans that he deserved this. He deserved everything his brothers did to him and that was what scared him.

Now he was thirsty again and waiting for his hair to release small drops but he knew his hair would eventually dry out. He looked up to find the small puddle still sitting there on the stone floor. There was something decidedly degrading about lapping up water from the ground like a dog but he knew he would have no choice. This had happened before with food. His brothers would make sure that he never touched water until he lapped all of that small puddle up. For a moment he wondered if death by dehydration was more preferable but that wouldn't happen either. Theodo would probably give him enough water to live but never enough to sooth his throat and ease the burning discomfort of a recently scalded mouth.

No. Death was not going to be his way out of here. He would never escape and would never be freed. His entire existence would be doomed to live out his life in this miserable cell. Just waiting every day for his brothers to invent some new round of torture or humiliation which he would have to endure. There was no way out. With that thought, Hans gave into an agonizing despair and cried deeply before utter exhaustion knocked him unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Anna's voice rattled the windows and scared away the birds who had been cheerfully sitting in a tree next to them.

"Anna." Elsa said soothingly.

"NO! NO, don't even think about trying to defend this!" Anna yelled.

Kristoff entered the room at that moment and took in the scene. Anna was red with fury and a few strands of her hair had escaped the normally tight braids she had them in. Elsa was also starting to turn red from frustration and was staring at her sister with a pleading gaze.

"What's goin on?" he asked slowly. Elsa turned and gave him a tired glance that proved she and Anna had been doing this for quite some time.

"Unbelievable! The trip is off!" Anna huffed furiously and spun around to pout.

"It would seem that on our way to Engledan we need to make a stop to resupply the ships." Elsa answered him. Kirstoff raised an eyebrow.

"And the problem is?"

"The problem-" Elsa was cut off by a furious Anna. "The problem is that the only fricken place to stop is the Southern Isles!"

Kristoff gazed at Elsa with horror. "The Hans of the Southern Isles, Southern Isles? The home of his royal jerk-who-tried-to-kill-you Southern Isles?" he asked sounding just as horrified.

"That would be the correct Southern Isles, although I'm unsure why you and Anna seem so confused seeing as there's only one Southern Isles out there." Elsa said dryly.

Kristoff looked at Elsa who seemed wholly unphazed and then at Anna who looked as upset as he did.

"You really plan on stopping there?" he asked, still stunned.

"Yeah, and she doesn't plan on changing anything." Anna said, sounding furious. Elsa rolled her eyes.

"But Hans is there!" Kristoff said, as if that were enough to condemn an entire nation.

"That's what I said." Anna pointed out, grateful to have an ally to back her up. Elsa regarded both of them with narrowed eyes.

"Then don't come with me." She said coldly.

"No! Don't you dare push me away like that. We're not going and that we includes you." Anna said.

"Either I go and you two stay and yell about the Southern Isles, or we all go and yes we will stop there and then move on to Engledan where we will enjoy one another's company." Anna and Kristoff opened their mouths to protest and Elsa forged on. "Because either way, I am going to Engledan. We need the trade that they can provide and if I don't go, the Lord there will refuse to open trade routes and Arendalle will suffer. As a Queen I have to put my personal discomforts aside and place the people's needs above my own." Kristoff and Anna fell silent, bowing their heads in what looked like shame.

It was sometimes hard to remember that the duties of a Queen were often very demanding and Elsa was often left ragged when some particularly nasty problem had to be sorted through. But she was a Queen and her people loved her. She often did place their needs above her own. She often felt the duty and responsibility she had to the people and she always strove to live up to them both. It was what made her so easy to love and follow.

"I'm sorry." Anna finally whispered. Elsa smiled before pulling her sister in for a hug.

"Listen. We won't stay there that long and Hans is in jail." Elsa said as if that settled everything. Anna hugged her sister but squirmed ever so slightly at the mention of the jerk's name.

"And I'll be there to make sure nothing happens to either of you." Kristoff said gruffly, straightening up as he did.

"I am very grateful for that." Elsa said with a regal bow of her head. Anna giggled and pulled Kristoff over for a hug.

"Now enough with the hugging!" Elsa commanded with a sly smile. "I command you both to pack your bags and prepare for a long adventure to Engledan!"

"An adventure unlike any other!" Anna cried and tackled her sister to the floor.

"I will never understand girls." Kristoff said and rolled his eyes before walking away to his room.

Elsa and Anna gazed at his retreating back before looking at one another and bursting into helpless giggles.

"I should probably warn the King of the Southern Isles that we're coming." Elsa said.

"Later. Now I have to beat you in a pillow fight." Anna cried and proceeded to start whacking Elsa with a blue pillow. Elsa responded with a frost covered pillow of her own.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry this chapter is so short but I promise I'll make it up by posting another chapter later tonight. Once again, I own none of this except the characters that you don't recognize from the movie….I wish I did but I really don't

Hans was sleeping deeply until a large hand closed over his throat and halted the air from getting to his lungs. He jerked awake and tried to move his hands to claw at whatever was crushing his windpipe but the chains on his wrists made it so he couldn't even brush his fingertips against the sleeve of the arm. He was left to choke and gaze with fear filled eyes into those of his brother.

"Good morning brother mine." Theodo said and chuckled. Hans was turning blue and moving his mouth like a fish. At the sight of Hans' lips turning blue he fought the urge to tighten his hold on his scrawny neck. He didn't want Hans blacking out. Instead of tightening his grip, he pulled Hans closer to him and was rewarded by Hans' eyes growing wider and filling with more fear.

"It seems that we are to have some dignified guests over soon and we don't want their stay to be ruined by your filthy presence. So I came to remind you to stay silent or you will regret it. If you make so much as a single whimper for them to hear you will find that this has been a paradise." The threat was hissed softly and Hans paled beneath the blue tinge of his oxygen deprived face. He understood.

"Good." Theodo smiled darkly. "And since we will be busy entertaining guests, we'll make sure to visit you as often as we can before you are deprived of our presence." Theodo spoke as if this were a great gift he was bestowing. He finally released Hans who slumped down as far as the chains would let him. He gasped and coughed hoarsely as his lungs again struggled for air.

"You truly are a pathetic sight." Theodo said with a sad shake of his head and he turned and shut the door behind him.

Hans coughed loudly and gasped long after Theodo had left. His limbs shook awfully as the panic slowly left his weary muscles. He caught the meaning behind Theodo's gift. He knew that soon his body wouldn't ache, it would scream from pain. They would have to get in whatever tortures they wanted to give before guests arrived. It would mean he would have no time to recover before another would be down to attack him. At least Theodo would be too busy preparing the castle. He alone was the one to come up with the more humiliating and painful tortures. His other brothers limited themselves to merely beating him within an inch of his life. Theodo always had a new, cruel way to hurt Hans where he didn't know he could be hurt. With his other brother's he'd be left with an aching body. With Theodo he'd be left hurting inside and out and his heart and head would be aching along with every singing muscle.

No, it was a small blessing that Theodo wouldn't get to come down for a while. Hans let out a last shuddering gasp and gazed at the puddle of water still on the floor. It was just further proof that Theodo was a cruel genius. Hans had finally tried to lap it up when his thirst became too great. But when he'd reached down he'd found that he was mere inches from being able to drink it. No matter how he leaned or how far he stuck his tongue out, he couldn't reach it. He'd wept at the realization that he had water so close he could almost feel it sliding down his burning throat but he would never be able to touch it. It seemed to mock him. Just the sight of that deliciously cool puddle made his throat burn unbearably. This was torture. Every day he couldn't stop himself from trying and every day he wept when he realized he never could.

He sat down on the stone floor and cried. He cried now because as soon as those guests came, he wouldn't be able to anymore. He knew his brother would make good his threat and he didn't want to know what exactly his brother had in mind to make this Hell seem like paradise.


	6. Chapter 6

Again, I own nothing. So here's the chapter I promised you.

It was easy to feel the tension on the boat. Attempts at halfhearted conversations died as they neared the famous Isles. The weather was clear with only stray white clouds occasionally crawling across a blue sky. Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff all stood on the bow of the ship, gazing out across the deep blue waters. None of them said a word until the ship crested over a large wave.

"Is that?" Anna asked, breathless.

"Indeed it is." An Arandalle guard said with a faint smile. He'd been on plenty of trips with the royal family and had seen this place many times. He knew that the grand sight often caught people by surprise. It was always amusing to him to see the wide eyed wonder that took over people's faces when they caught their first glimpse.

"The Southern Isles." Elsa whispered reverently.

"Woah." Was Kristoff's remark.

The water led up to a semi-circle of pristine white sand that glittered like a sliver of moon against the dark waves of the ocean that lapped up onto the shore. To the right of the sliver of beach was a large port with fleets of magnificent ships all docked and either loading or unloading. People clambered up their ships or spoke with one another on the docks. Beyond the port was a hill of the darkest green grass with paths made of the same white sand as the beach and flowers of every color sprouted from the sides to make a colorful guideline for the paths. The beginning cluster of bronze, golden, and deep blue houses could be seen on the top of the hill. Large palm trees swayed in the gentle breeze. They were randomly strewn across the picturesque landscape in a way that made the Isles seem all the more inviting.

"Entering the southern port of the Southern Isles!" A voice from the back of the ship crowed out. Elsa's, Anna's, and Kristoff's nerves began to zing with and their stomachs began to churn. The Isles seemed more inviting and welcoming than they'd expected but still they felt the uneasy cloud of dread. Elsa clenched her fists slightly, willing her ice to remain hidden but still keeping her fingers a little frosty just in case her ice was needed. Kristoff straightened and had his fists ready to swing if need be. Anna crept a little closer to Kristoff and held on to one of his hands tightly, willing her nerves to calm down so she didn't fall and face plant in front of the royals here.

The ship docked and suddenly a small band of Southern Isles' soldiers were standing. They wore a polished golden armor that gleamed like the sun in the light. They all seemed friendly and smiled at the Arendalle ship, a few even waved as if greeting an old friend.

"This isn't so bad I guess." Anna mumbled but her grip on Kristoff's hand tightened.

"Hmmm." Was all Elsa said. "We're heading to the palace. All of those who aren't on the ship's duties will accompany my sister, Kristoff, and I to the royal palace. As for the crew, you are free to spend your time as you wish and I've been informed that there is a man in town who will provide your rooms." As Elsa spoke the crew smiled and nodded their consent to their queen.

The soldiers of Arandalle straightened their uniforms and disembarked first. They appreciated the friendly soldiers from the Southern Isles, and more importantly, they appreciated the small numbers. Tensions had been high as the Arandalle soldiers realized their destination. They had failed their Queen once and refused to do so again.

Those who were lumbering on the docks turned to stare as a small army marched off the ship in Arandalle colors and apparel. Next was the large form of Kristoff who was smiling pleasantly but still gave off a menacing air that seemed to dare anyone to touch what he had sworn to protect. Nobody wanted to meet that dare. Next to him was a small girl with red hair woven into two braids. She had a green dress and a pleasant face that beamed and one or two of the Southern Isles guards found themselves smiling back at her. Finally the Queen stepped onto the dock. Several men dropped their valuable goods into the ocean. A couple of jaws dropped and one man even walked off the end of the dock. All eyes were drawn to Elsa. The Southern Isles guards dropped their formal stance and gazed at the Queen like the ship workers. They finally straightened up and blushed bright red at their drop in formalities but still they couldn't take their eyes off of Elsa.

She was stunning and in the midst of the deep reds and golden colors of the Southern Isles, she stood out. She was as pale as a snowflake and in her dress she glittered and stood out from the swirl of deep colors that surrounded her. She was breathtaking. Anna giggled silently as she took in the stunned faces of those in the Southern Isles. Kristoff laughed with her. Queen Elsa was indeed a sight to behold. And when she was nervous she tended to become more regal and elegant to make up for what she assumed were nerves that everyone could see. But all anyone noticed was the delicate grace of a regal monarch.

"Qu-" the soldier's voice cracked and he cleared his throat while trying to ignore the laughter from the soldiers behind him "Queen Elsa. Our King expresses his deepest regret that he couldn't come to meet you by the docks but he insisted that he make sure the castle was perfect and ready for your stay." The guard said and bowed low.

Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff exchanged a glance.

"He really wants to make a good impression." Anna muttered.

"Indeed. He wishes to make amends for certain….unpleasantness." the soldier managed to say. A shudder seemed to work its way through everyone present but Elsa fought to regain a controlled smile. She admired the soldier's bravery in bringing up such a sensitive topic.

"Very well. May we please make our way to the castle?" Elsa asked while gracefully waving her hand to grant their progress. The guard bowed low and tried to hide his blush.

Slowly they made their way through the town. It was large and bustling and everyone paused to stare at the entourage of soldiers and the three visitors who were surrounded by soldiers from both Arendalle and the Southern Isles. As they left there were excited whispers. Maybe their relationship with the beautiful country of Arendalle wasn't ruined after all. If the Queen and Princess were here, then there was hope. The citizens quickly decided that if any of those from Arendalle need anything they wouldn't hesitate to show them that the Southern Isles was nothing like the disgraceful prince who had darkened their name.

A small gasp could be heard as the trio and their soldiers finally glimpsed the palace. It was large and made of black stones that glistened in the light. Golden flags with blazing suns waved in the wind. Turrets could be seen with flashes of golden armor as soldiers walked along their posts. Large suns were carved into the stone of castle and as the sun rose higher, the markings stood out more, so when the sun was brightest, the suns on the castle were too. It was magnificent and elegant. Flowers poured out of several windows and travelled down to the green grass beneath them. Behind the castle was a little pathway of smooth pebbles that led to a private beach meant only for the royal family.

"Okay. This isn't so bad." Anna said. Kristoff and Elsa smirked.

"It's not ice but…it's not that bad. It's good stone." Kristoff remarked softly.

"How would you?" Elsa started to ask "Oh, right, trolls."

"You tend to learn a thing or two about rock when you're raised by trolls." Kristoff said and smirked at Elsa who blushed softly.

"Show off." Anna murmured and bumped her shoulder into his.

The black doors swung open and it was if they were carved from the castle themselves. Out strode a large man who was about as tall and muscular as Kristoff. His red hair was thick and darker than red wine. Fine lines of black were growing in with the thick strands of red. A golden grown covered in rubies and emeralds glistened on his head. He wore a black outfit that matched the color of the stones his castle was made from. His dark eyes were watching the newcomers with merriment. He had a thick mustache that made his face seem older and more powerful.

"WELCOME MY ROYAL GUESTS!" He boomed and his voice echoed through the castle grounds. He smiled warmly and quickly walked up to the trio from Arendalle. "I hope you will find everything to your liking."

He stopped in front of the group. "I am King Theodo of the Southern Isles." He said and bowed slightly.

"I am Princess Anna of Arandalle." Anna said and curtsied slightly. The King admired the beautiful young girl. He could see how Hans had fallen for her. She wasn't a jaw dropping beauty but she had an air about her that was bright and attractive, she was warm and pleasant to even be around.

"I'm Kristoff. I'm Anna's…..boyfriend." he stuttered. Theodo took in the man who was about as large as he and recognized a man worthy of knowing. He extended his hand and the two shook.

"I am Queen Elsa." Theodo took great care not to show his surprise but even so, his eyes popped open in shock. She was stunning. Her dress was as graceful and beautiful as the proud Queen who wore it. Her blue eyes were like frozen ice and pierced him. Again he could see why Hans had chosen Anna. Anna was warm and approachable, Elsa had a beauty that made men feel as if she were too far out of their league to even be contenders for her hand. Hans would have taken one look and realized the futility in even approaching such a stunning woman.

"If it would please you I would love to show you the grounds and introduce my brothers." He said and threw out his arm to indicate the palace behind him.

"That would be agreeable." Elsa said politely. With a smile, Theodo turned and led the group into the castle.


	7. Chapter 7

Once again, I don't own anything! I hope you enjoy!

"Oh my feet hurt!" Anna moaned and giggled as Elsa pushed her off of the bed.

"As do mine but that's no reason to hog all of the blankets." Elsa said and laughed.

"Sheesh. He really wasn't kidding. He had twelve brothers." Anna said while tilting her head to the side.

"I know. Having one was bad enough." Elsa said. Anna looked up from the floor and stuck out her tongue.

"Today was a pretty good day. It's gorgeous, those pineapple drinkie thingies are pretty good, and not one mention of stupid sideburns Hans…well, other than he's in jail!" Anna said and leapt up from the ground. Elsa furrowed her brows slightly.

"What?" Anna asked. Elsa looked startled and stared at her sister in silence for a moment.

"Nothing…it's just…doesn't it strike you as odd that they haven't once mentioned him?" She asked.

"Hmm…nope. They probably figure that the best way to get over it is to pretend like it never happened." Anna replied.

"I can't really agree with that theory."

"Why not?"

Elsa looked at her sister and remembered all those years she had shut her out. How she wished she could forget that any of it had ever happened but it had. She had locked her sister out and she never once dared try to pretend it never happened. She brought it up and worked on fixing it, on making it right.

"It's just like my powers." Elsa finally said.

"How so?" Anna asked, confused.

"My powers were a problem and instead of confronting the problem and dealing with it, we tried to hide them, to pretend like they never happened and look at how that turned out."

A deep sorrow crossed Anna's face as she too remembered the pain of shut doors, of calling desperately for her sister without so much as a single word back. Hiding the problem was not the solution.

"But his brothers said that they were dealing with it." Anna finally mumbled. Elsa said nothing and finally broke out into a smile.

"I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am. Now! How about we-" Anna said but Elsa cut her off. "How about I take those blankets back and you go make sure Kristoff is okay in his big room….the room where he's all alone."

Anna blushed slightly before squealing in delight. She hugged Elsa tightly. "I love you I love you I love you!" her voice could still be heard as she bounced down the hall, looking for Kristoff's door. Elsa laughed at her sister before the smile fled her face and she was left frowning.

Something just didn't feel right about any of this. The castle was beautiful and the King and his brothers had impeccable manners. They had assured them that Hans was safely locked away but there was just something in the Queen's gut that made her uncomfortable. Something in Theodo's eyes when he spoke of Hans. It seemed almost cruel, calculating. When his brothers had insisted that Hans was being 'taken care of' that just made her blood run colder than normal.

Maybe Anna was right. She was probably worrying too much about nothing. But years being alone had isolated her and forced her to rely on her gut instincts more since she had no one to help guide her. She had taught herself several things while being alone and although her instincts were wrong sometimes, there was just something about the way the brothers spoke and just the way that some things felt that had her stomach writhing.

Anna would be busy with Kristoff for a few hours which left Elsa some time to think and be alone. She would never sleep if she were left thinking that something was off. She jumped off the bed and threw on a dress, not the one she wore as a Queen but a dress she wore when she was planning on doing things that weren't very Queen like. It was blue and modest enough but it had some worn edges and a hole or two and some very stubborn stains that never really left. In her agitated state some frost started growing and soon the drab dress was sparkling in the moonlight and looked as beautiful as her formal one.

She had to know. Just one peek at Hans wouldn't hurt. He was locked up and she…she looked down at her hand and curled it into a fist. Shards of sharp ice jutted out threateningly from the floor. She smirked at them before straightening her shoulders and sneaking out of the room. She could take care of herself.

She hid in the shadows of the night and quietly crept down hall after hall. The slightest sound of a servant's feet and she was safely concealed in the shadows. She was walking down a more isolated hall when she heard the sharp click of a heeled boot and barely dodged behind an old armoire when Theodo and Horace emerged from the darkness. A single candle was being held in Horace's hand. He was shorter than Theodo but his stature more than made up for that. The man had arms that could bend iron to their will.

"I do believe that this visit is going well." Horace said pleasantly.

"I hope so. After Hans' stupid little stunt it's taken every ounce of persuasion and pleading on my part to even get this." Theodo's voice was bitter with anger.

"Speaking of which, how's our little coward doing?" Horace asked slyly. The two brothers shared a smirk before glancing at the iron door they stood in front of. The hallway fell silent as everyone strained to hear something. Nothing. Not a sound. Elsa narrowed her brows in confusion, what were they listening to?

"I hear nothing." Horace said happily. Theodo smiled darkly.

"As it should be. That little twig has learned to respect my every command. If he knows what's good for him he'll continue to be a good little pet."

"After all this hard work we should give him a little treat, don't you think?" Horace asked, tilting his head.

"You may be right. Maybe something to chew on." Theodo said with a laugh, clapping his younger brother on the shoulder.

"Oh dear, do you remember his face from the last time?"

"How could I forget? He practically salivated like a wild dog!" Theodo jeered and laughed heartily.

The course laugh had shivers running up Elsa's spine and she bit her lip hard to keep from frosting the floor where she was crouching on. She was afraid. There was something about Theodo's laugh that had her feeling like a small child. Like the small child who had almost killed her little sister, the monster. Elsa bit her lip harder and felt a small feeling of relief as Horace and Theodo began walking away from her sight. She waited until she could no longer hear the clicking of Theodo's shoes and then slowly made her way out from her hiding spot and to the door. With a deep gulp she opened the door just a crack and slid in before softly shutting it behind her.

The one power she'd learned since becoming Queen that was quite useful was that of light. She closed her hand and focused on making an icicle. She could feel the cool ice growing in her hand. Then she focused on changing its colors and when she opened her eyes she was holding an icicle that glowed with a faint blue color. It wasn't too bright but it was enough to let her see through the room.

She was standing at the top of a large flight of stairs. At the bottom was a foreboding looking cellar. Empty jail cells with chains dangling from wooden cots, broken metal machinery and in the far right, buried by stone columns was a metal door with a sliding window so anyone could peek in at the occupant. A quick glance confirmed that Hans was in none of the other cells which meant he had to be in the hidden one.

Feeling her dread grow, Elsa slowly made her way down the stairs to the door and it was there that she froze. Something bad was behind that door, she could feel it. Smell it too. There was an awful smell of coppery blood and the stench of fear. Fear practically oozed from the walls. It could have been from centuries ago but something told her that this fear came from behind the door. Run. Run was her natural instinct and she desperately wanted to run and hug Anna until the cold feeling that was inside of her was gone. Run and find Kristoff and laugh and talk about ice. Run until she was far from this door and whatever lay behind it.

She almost did. She was turning to run when she heard the faintest sob. It was so light she almost imagined it was a burst of wind. But there were no windows down here to even let wind in. She waited but there was no other sound. It was almost agonizingly quiet. With trembling fingers she forced herself to open the door. She could hear nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

"P-please. I'm s-sorry." A soft voice whimpered. It was so faint. It sounded so familiar. Elsa forced the door to open all the way and stepped inside. Her heart stopped beating for a second and her breath came out in a gasp, forming a puff of frozen air.

"Hans?" She whispered.

Sure enough. She blinked. She counted to ten and opened her eyes, it was still Hans, or what was left of him. His shirt was nothing more than a few strips of fabric just barely clinging to his chest. His pants were too large and shredded awfully. His shirt did nothing to cover the skinny body. Every bone, every rib poked out from damaged and bruised skin. Layers on layers of bruises had turned his skin a sickly black, purple, and green color. His thin arms were pinned high above his head with barely enough chain to let them move a few inches down. The manacles were so tight that dried blood could be seen on the metal. His scrawny legs were also chained together and they too were clamped on too tight. His red hair was long and mangy. It covered his face and was filthy. His head hung low from shame and exhaustion. He looked like a forgotten rag doll. He couldn't stop shaking and his whole body trembled.

Upon hearing his name he slowly raised his head and gazed at Elsa with eyes long buried in shadows. They were full of fear. Elsa didn't really plan on what to say or do when she saw him but seeing him like this had really left her speechless. Hans saw her and came to the only conclusion he could. He tried to scramble to his feet and the chains on his arms and legs rattled. With each step he took to stand up his legs gave out and crashed to the floor. Still he fought madly to stand up. If he was standing he could use his arms to protect more of himself.

Elsa was caught off guard by the movement but she caught the pure raw fear in his eyes that kept growing with each failed attempt to stand. With the noise he was making it would soon attract the attention of the entire castle. She raced forward and placed her cold fingers on his shoulders.

"Shh…Relax. Shh….nobody can come, they'll hear you. Just relax." She repeated the words over and over as she fought to calm him down. He did stop his attempts to stand and Elsa thought she had succeeded when he started pleading in a voice so pitiful it would break anyone's heart.

"P-please. Please don't. I c-can't take a-anymore. Please." He begged.

Elsa looked down at his face. His right eye was almost swollen shut but the other had so much hurt and fear that Elsa had to bite her lip to stop tears from falling.

"P-please. I've been g-good. Please." He kept mewling. His voice was scratched and hoarse. It was more a croak than anything.

"Oh Hans." Elsa whispered. She placed the icicle on the floor and it lit up the cell as if the moon were shining right above them. Hans' eyes darted to the icicle which seemed to be harmless and then back to Elsa who wasn't yet hurting him but most assuredly would.

Elsa reached for his face and he flinched violently, ramming his head into the wall behind him. He saw stars flash before his eyes and then felt Elsa's cool hands softly stroking his sweaty, filthy hair from his face. He knew it would end, knew she'd laugh and reach out to slap him but her touch felt so good. He couldn't remember the last time something had touched him that hadn't inflicted pain. He leaned in to the touch and whimpered softly.

"Shh. It's okay. It's okay." Elsa murmured softly.

"Don't t-tell them." Hans whispered.

"Tell who?" Elsa asked, confused.

"Tell my brothers. If they k-knew you'd h-heard me….T-Theodo said he'd make this l-look like p-paradise." Hans whispered. Elsa's grip unintentionally tightened with anger. Hans flinched.

"P-Please don't! Y-you can h-hit me! You can h-hit me all n-night just don't tell them! P-please!" he begged, sobbing. Elsa looked down and saw the sincerity in his eyes. He really would let her hit him.

"I-I don't even m-make a s-sound so n-nobody would know!" He begged. He remembered how some of his brothers preferred that nobody know what they were doing down in the dark dungeons and had long ago learned to keep as quiet as possible.

Elsa felt like she'd be sick. He was using the idea of him being a willing target for her magic as a bribe to keep her from telling on him as if he were bargaining over the price of meat in a marketplace.

"Oh Hans." She said. "I won't tell. I promise."

His eyes bored into hers and finally he let his head drop numbly. His fingers clenched as hard as he could make them and he braced himself.

"What are you doing?" Elsa asked, lost once more. Immediately Hans' eyes flew open.

"I'm s-sorry. You p-probably want me w-watching this. I-I'll be better I pr-promise." He begged. His brothers had also enjoyed forcing him to watch while they battered and scarred his body, loved watching the horror and pain in his eyes.

"You think I'm going to hit you?" Elsa asked, horrified.

"You s-said you w-wouldn't tell." He whispered.

"And I won't! But I'm not going to hit you!"

Hans stared at her as if her words were a foreign language. Elsa sighed softly before standing up and dusting off her dress. Hans watched her with a numb fear. Elsa bent down to pick up the icicle and went out the door.

"Wh-where are you g-going?" Hans asked and instantly flinched. Never ask questions down here.

Elsa froze in the doorway. She turned her head to stare at him over her shoulder. He was still shaking with fear and seemed more dead than alive. Her heart clenched painfully. Nobody, not even Hans deserved this.

"I can't very well carry you myself so I'm going to get help." With that she turned around and was gone.

Hans sat perfectly still and suddenly started shaking so hard that the chains rattled faintly. She meant Theodo. She was going to bring him down here and it would all be over. He'd be dragged down to Hell. Theodo wouldn't stop until he was screaming and begging for death and then he'd refuse it. Elsa had every right to wish him hurt but still he had thought that her eyes had been so honest. Her touch had been so kind, so soft. How could he be so stupid? Well it was all over. She'd bring Theodo down and then….he didn't want to think about it.


	9. Chapter 9

Again, I own nothing. As a quick little note I'd just like to thank everyone who has reviewed this story and I was so excited to read what you said! Winter's Frozen Medleys, I plan on showing an idea for why the brothers are the way they are but I'm not so sure if I'll go too in-depth with that. But seriously, thank you for all of your comments, I really appreciate them….now, on with the story!

Elsa crept down the long hallways while trying vainly to remember how to get back to her room. Her brain was muddled and with every step she felt like sinking to the floor and sobbing. She couldn't get his fear filled eyes out of her head. Every time she closed them she saw his trembling body, heard his whimpers. She shuddered at the memory.

She bit down on her lip and fought back the memory of him expecting her to hit him. How he had begged her not to tell, to let on that he had made any noise for her to hear. He was willing to do anything as long as she didn't tell. Elsa suddenly wanted to vomit. Then there was his arms which were so high and couldn't move, his legs which were too weak to even let him stand. It was all too horrible and Elsa felt as if her world had been titled on its side and she was left to stare through a kaleidoscope at a world that no longer made any sense.

It was with a numb gaze she finally took in the sight of her door. Her bed was in there just waiting for her to curl up and let all of this fade away, let her sleep and think of nothing. Hans had no chance to even lay down, he was buried in the cold and dark dungeons with his arms pinned high above his head while he tried not to make a sound. Elsa's stomach turned again and she closed her eyes while taking several deep breaths to keep herself from vomiting. That would attract attention and attention was something that she couldn't afford right now.

She shook her head and slowly made her way to Kristoff's room. She could hear Anna laughing happily at something Kristoff had just said. Normally the sound of Anna's laugh could make Elsa smile and make her stress fade away to a dull twinge of alarm but at that moment the sound made Elsa feel cold. How long had they been laughing in their room? How long had they been teasing each other and eating delicious chocolates? How long had they been blissfully unaware that while they were enjoying themselves, Hans was crying in pain and shaking with fear?

But then, hadn't she known? From the moment they'd entered and she'd asked about Hans she'd felt as though something wasn't quite right. There had been something about the quiet, shared glance between the brothers, something about Theodo's smile which had seemed a bit too wide, too dark. She had felt something wasn't right, wasn't that why she had gone down to the dungeons in the first place? Still, whatever her fears had been, they hadn't prepared her for what she had seen. For a moment, Elsa wondered if she would have ever been prepared for what she'd seen down there.

Elsa shook her head in self-reproof. She had no time to philosophize, she needed to get Anna and Kristoff's help. They needed to get Hans out of there right now and her standing in a dark hall pondering about this whole situation would do nothing helpful. She tried to pull the attitude of a Queen on before she went in.

She had often been taught how to act as a Queen when in the position of giving bad news. It was an unfortunate thing that nobody wanted to do. You would hope that your actions would never put someone in harm's way but there were accidents and life wasn't perfect. When those unfortunate moments came it was up to the Queen to be the calm one in a storm. The Queen who had to be strong and comforting. A Queen was not weak or overly emotional, she couldn't be. At least, not where her subjects could see her.

With every ounce of strength she had, Elsa straightened her shoulders and held her head high. It would do nobody any good if she walked in and threw up on Kristoff's floor. She had to be strong and tell them what she'd seen. Then once they knew, and she'd told them everything, she could break down.

She opened the door and walked in on Kristoff tickling Anna who was laughing wildly. Both turned at the sound of the opening door. Kristoff flushed a deep crimson and immediately backed away from Anna as if she had suddenly caught fire, although he still held on to one of her hands. Anna also flushed a bright pink but she seemed less afraid of the Ice Queen and kept a sheepish smile on her face. Elsa looked at the two of them and her eyes quickly retreated to the floor. Anna tilted her head, the smile leaving her freckled face.

"Elsa? What's wrong?" She asked. Elsa had looked horrified. Her hair had started to escape her tight braid and her eyes had been haunted. The smile or the blush Anna had expected on her sister's face wasn't there and instead it was almost like her sister was trying not to cry.

"Was it Hans?" Kristoff asked gruffly. If that red haired idiot had said something, he'd willingly punch him for Elsa if Anna didn't claim that right first.

Elsa slowly nodded her head, refusing to look up from the ground.

"I knew it! That lying, cruel…..meanie!" Anna went red from the effort of trying to hold in her temper.

"Listen, whatever he said…it….it can't hurt you okay. It wasn't true." Kristoff said in a comforting voice. Anna nodded her head in agreement.

"That's not-" Elsa's voice broke off as she whispered. She tried swallowing but she couldn't get the words to come out. She could feel Anna's eyes and Kristoff's concern and while it was sweet she couldn't help but feel suffocated. She could still see Han's eyes pleading with her, hear his whine and the horrible croaking that had been his voice. The image of his one bruised eye swollen shut and his thin wrists shaking madly, the metal cuffs digging deeper and deeper into already scarred flesh was permanently stuck on the back of her eyelids. Elsa shook her head and felt tears slipping out. She finally raised her head and stared into Anna's worried green eyes.

"Anna." She pleaded in a soft voice. She couldn't do it. She couldn't be the regal Queen. She needed her sister. Elsa needed to feel Anna's love, needed to know her sister was still here and still safe and still protected in Elsa's arms.

Anna seemed to understand because she quickly let go of Kristoff's hands and wrapped her older sister in a tight hug. Elsa reciprocated the movement and buried her face in Anna's shoulder. With that, she finally broke down into gasping sobs. The horror of everything, the fear that had begun to settle in her veins with every moment she'd been down there slowly worked its way out of her system. She clung to Anna like her sister was a life line in a violent and dark sea.

Kristoff felt slightly embarrassed at being a witness to the emotional scene but he was also a little touched at the love that was being shared between the two sisters. Despite years of being apart, they still knew how to rely on one another when they needed to.

Slowly, Elsa's sobs calmed. When she raised her head she gazed at Anna and Kristoff with a serious look and soon a feeling of heavy dread settled on the room. Elsa squeezed her sister one last time and then she began her story and was telling Anna and Kristoff everything she had seen and heard down in the dark dungeons below.


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own anything! I wish I could say something clever but my brain has run dry. I'm sorry about the last chapter, I don't really like how that one turned out and I'm hoping this one is just a bit better. To .zombie, I tried to end the last chapter before I got stuck on a chapter that went on for ten pages so I tried to cut myself off before it got too long winded and I hope that this chapter can explain a bit more. I have read a few stories where they say Anna isn't so eager to forgive Hans but I just don't agree with that. She forgave her sister after years of neglect and just seems to have an open heart that doesn't really allow for much hatred. If she had just met Hans in a cell she probably wouldn't feel the least bit of guilt but I tried to make Hans' treatment brutal enough that most anyone would feel heartbroken. I hope that clarifies some things.

All too soon Hans heard the door open and his nerves jangled horribly. He could only hear three sets of footsteps. Elsa, Theodo, and was Horace there as well? His face started throbbing at the thought.

"Elsa, I don't like this." The voice was soft and feminine. Feminine? Hans paused to consider that. It wasn't Elsa's but the voice was familiar.

"It's going to get worse." Elsa said.

"Guys this is really bad." A male voice. It wasn't Theodo though. Who did Elsa go get? Soon Hans had his answers when the three entered the room. There was Elsa and then came Anna, no wonder the voice had been familiar. And finally a man as large as Theodo entered. So Elsa had gone to get everyone he had hurt so they could all take turns. It would be unpleasant but it was a small price to pay if she didn't tell Theodo she had heard him.

Anna let out a gasp and quickly grabbed Kristoff's hands, clenching tightly but Kristoff could barely feel her nails digging in as he took in the sight before him. Elsa had warned them. She'd come in breathless and horrified and crying. They had tried to believe her but her words were nothing compared to the visual scene. Anna had gazed at her sister with a slight disbelief as Elsa told them about Hans' condition, but her hands had clenched tightly as she fought back the horror that came with Elsa's words. Kristoff had thought of the anger he'd once had when confronted with Hans on that boat in the middle of the fjords, how he'd hated the man who had almost taken the love of his life away from him before he'd even had the chance to tell her. They had both wanted to know that Hans was safely locked up but with Elsa's words that seemed more fit for a horror story, they had both come to the conclusion that they had to see for themselves if this macabre tale were true.

It wasn't that they didn't believe Elsa so much as they didn't want to believe that that kind of cruelty could actually exist in their world. If what Elsa said were true, it would change everything and their long held hatred and anger would be forced to clash with the natural kindness in their hearts. Believing Elsa's tale would mean feeling something other than a deep burning resentment for Hans. But if Elsa was telling the truth, then they couldn't' just leave him down there. Even if it was the red-headed-jerk-who-almost-killed-Elsa-and-Anna-named-Hans. They couldn't leave anyone like that. Despite their cool resolve to at least see him, the real picture made both their stomachs lurch. It was so much worse than Elsa had described. Words cannot accurately express the horrors that some humans can stoop to. Depravities of this nature are normally too awful for anyone to accurately represent. Despite long held grudges, Anna and Kristoff felt their hearts lurch at the sight of the broken and bleeding man. Nobody could really see him and not feel some stab of pity. Even if they didn't really like the man, they didn't hate him enough to wish this upon him. From the cell floor Hans was staring at them with a wary look of acceptance.

Kristoff took one step forward and quickly jumped back as Hans flinched and tried to curl in on himself.

"He can't stand up." Elsa said finally.

Hans flinched and tried to use his bony knees to defend himself as much as he could.

"Why is he doing that?" Anna asked, her voice shaking. Elsa's shoulders slumped slightly.

"I'm s-sorry. I didn't k-know." Hans whimpered. The sound wrung all the other occupant's hearts. Anna whimpered slightly and held tighter to Kristoff. With a painstakingly slow movement, Hans forced himself to lower his legs so they could have access to hit whichever part of him they wanted. Nobody moved.

"He thinks we're going to hit him." Elsa finally said. Anna gasped and Kristoff fought the urge to vomit. Hans titled his head to the side in confusion.

"Y-you're n-not?" he slowly asked. Anna whimpered.

"No!" Kristoff said sharply. Hans flinched.

"Nobody is going to hit you." Elsa said slowly and calmly. She held her hands out as she slowly approached Hans.

"Now, I'm going to have to freeze those cuffs so don't flinch okay?"

Hans gazed at her with a blank look. Finally he nodded. Anna slowly came from behind Elsa and Kristoff followed. They were soon within arm's reach of Hans and he began shaking once more.

"It's okay. We won't hurt you." Anna said as she tried to smile.

"We're here to help." Kristoff added. At those words Hans started to whimper faintly. He knew what those words meant. Kristoff paled at Hans' reaction.

"No, not that help!" he threw his hands up in a placating gesture "I mean help that gets you out of here help."

"What he means is that we won't hurt you." Anna chimed in.

Hans kept switching his gaze back and forth from Anna to Kristoff. One of them had to punch him but both were smiling and it wasn't like his brother's smiles. These were warm and not meant to hurt. He jumped when he felt the cool sting of ice on his wrists and it took all of the energy he had left to not squirm away. He scrunched his eyes shut and started his internal mantra of pleadings.

Crunch.

His arms swung down sharply as they were finally released from the manacles that had held him bound for all those long months. He gazed up at Elsa and the frozen handcuffs that were now shattered. He then looked down at his wrists. They had been rubbed raw and were bleeding. But they were free.

He looked at all three smiling faces. He was free. Something long buried during his days spent down here started to emerge from its hiding place. Hope was slowly starting to work its way into the light again. He forced back salty tears and his gaze soon strayed to the puddle that was still there on the ground. In the wake of Elsa's cold touch the water had started to freeze on the edges. It looked so cold and he hadn't had anything to drink in so long. He'd spent days aching and trying to get that water. He was so thirsty. His arms were free. He had only one thought on his mind.

Anna and Kristoff leapt to their feet when Hans lunged forward. For a moment they all thought he was aiming to attack them but soon watched in horror as he lunged forward for the puddle of muddy water on the ground. His hands dug into the floor as he tried to steady himself. Kristoff groaned faintly when Hans leaned forward and began lapping up the water like a dog. Hans himself didn't care that he looked like an animal, he only cared that the water was so refreshingly cold and that it was soothing the fire that had been in his throat for so long. He wanted more and more.

He flinched when he felt a small pair of hands on his shoulder. He slowly turned and gazed up at Elsa. She had frozen something to resemble a cup and had filled it with water. She held it out to him and he made a low whining noise as he tried to reach for it but his arms refused to move how he wanted them to (months of having them hoisted uselessly above his head had rendered them unusable) and just like the puddle, he found himself unable to reach it. He felt horrible and humiliated and all of this was making him want to cry and the small hope that had begun to leak out started to shrivel up, but before he could vent his frustrations he felt the cold cup placed against his lips and soon he was drinking the water greedily. It tasted so much better than the puddle, so much colder and cleaner.

He started to whimper when he reached the end of it but Elsa pulled back the cup. "Kristoff, I think it's time that we leave." She said. She finally turned away from Hans and gazed at her terrified sister and the noticeably green Kristoff.

"Okay." He said numbly. He slowly approached Hans who didn't know whether he should flinch or run. This had never happened before. He had never been let out of his cuffs since they were first shackled onto his wrists. Hans had never truly felt safe since he'd been dragged down here, but he had always held onto the rare safety net of knowing what was going to happen. It was a cruel thing to know just how bad it would hurt, how humiliating it would be. But there was also a sort of comfort in knowing when it would end and what he had to do to make it end faster and with the least amount of pain. Not knowing what would happen was absolutely terrifying and his veins ran cold with the thought that he had no idea what was going to happen now, this was all foreign territory. As Kristoff got closer, Hans tried to stand up but his legs were too weak and slipped out from under him. He crashed onto the ground and groaned as his body reminded him of the bruises and welts on his skin. The shackles dug in to the ankles that were still bound.

Elsa, Anna and Kristoff winced along with Hans who was trying to keep his soft whimpers from being heard. He curled up slightly. He really hated not knowing.


	11. Chapter 11

Again, I own nothing...and thank you so much for your reviews!

"Take it easy there big guy." Anna said teasingly but her voice wavered as she spoke. Hans kept switching his gaze between all three of them. Anna trying to smile despite the tears in her eyes, Kristoff who looked terrified and uneasy but who was also trying to show he was harmless, and then there was Elsa. She wasn't really smiling but her look was gentler, soothing. Her eyes were pleading him to calm down and he remembered the feel of her cool fingers brushing back his filthy hair. He let out a soft whimper.

"Maybe we should, I don't know, calm him down first?" Anna suggested although she had no clue how they'd do that. Elsa thought she had an idea and slowly knelt down next to Hans who was staring at her with a wide eyed wariness. His shoulders hunched as though preparing for a blow. Elsa reached out and brushed his hair back. He'd seemed to respond positively to that action before. Sure enough, when her fingers touched his skin he had immediately tightened in fear but quickly gave in to the gentle touch. His eyes closed and he tried to savor the feeling of cool fingers on his hot skin.

"Shh, it's okay. We won't hurt you. It's okay." She mumbled softly as her fingers continued to gently sweep across his face. Hans knew that those had to be lies. Everybody wanted to hurt him. He was a failure, a disgrace, a monster who deserved to be down here. Of course they wouldn't help him, he didn't deserve help. But why was she being so gentle? Why did he feel some small part of him believed her words?

"Now, Kristoff is going to come over here and we're going to get you out okay?" Elsa said softly. Hans' muscles clenched tightly. No. They didn't understand. To go out and feel the sweet taste of freedom would be beyond cruel. To feel hope in his heart only to have them discover he belonged back down here and take that hope away would be like the death of his soul. But maybe that was the point.

Anna noticed Hans shaking and spoke up. "Hans, don't you want to get out of here?"

All eyes turned to Hans who slowly shook his head.

"What? Why?" Kristoff asked, sounding horrified.

Hans swallowed thickly and fought to regain his voice despite his desire to just curl up and slip into a deep unconsciousness. "B-because I d-deserve this." He finally whispered.

The room fell silent after that. Hans looked down at the dirty cell floor, refusing to look up. The stones were spattered with his blood in various places. For a brief moment he wondered how it had gotten that far. Maybe a hit had sent splatters arching away from him or maybe it had dribbled off of one of his brother's fingers. Either way, he continued to gaze absently at the blood stains, not daring to look into their eyes.

They would take his words and realize what everyone else had always seemed to know. Hans deserved this, he deserved everything his brothers gave him. He was being selfish and gutless each time he begged them to stop. His own desire for Elsa to not let Theodo know of his transgression was just more proof of his uselessness. He had screwed up and he deserved to be punished. They would see that now. They would know better than to haul his worthless self out of this cell. He had made his own blunders and had dared to seek out something greater than he was worth and now he had to pay the price. So why didn't they realize that before they had come down here? Hans' brow furrowed as he pondered that question.

He could feel their eyes on him and he flinched. They were gauging his worth, sensing the truth in his words. Desperately he yearned to take those words back. This could have been his chance at freedom, of tasting fresh air again even if it was for just a moment. He could have grabbed onto any glimpse of something outside of this dark cell but now it was all lost. He would never know anything more than pain. They had realized the truth and now Theodo would know, he had to know because otherwise how were they supposed to chain his arms up again? Hans closed his eyes shut tightly and fought back the desire to sob.

He remained unaware that the silent trio that were watching him were fighting back the same feeling. They had all been struck dumb at Hans' words. Part of Anna half expected the smooth talking prince to come out, to make some speech that would thank them and make empty promises to make it up to them. But to say that he deserved this? To say that he believed his brother's had been right in being so brutal? That was too much. Whatever he had once done, whoever he had once been, he was no more. This broken man was not the same Hans who had swept a lonely princess off her feet while plotting something dark and murderous, this was just Hans. A broken man.

Kristoff noticed Hans' flinch and had to bite his lip to keep from rushing forward and holding him in a tight hug. He'd had an adopted cousin (one of the trolls) who had been terrified of spiders and one day Kristoff had come back home to find him frozen with terror, stuck behind a nest of long legged black spiders. Kristoff and Sven had barged in and grabbed him and when they were far enough away the poor kid had reacted much like Hans was acting now: flinching, trying not to cry, and deeply frightened. Kristoff had thought nothing of hugging his poor cousin who had hugged him right back but Hans didn't seem to be reacting too well to anyone's presence but Elsa's. If he tried to go near would Hans refuse the gesture? Kristoff felt his heart sink at the thought of Hans misinterpreting his intentions. Nobody had ever accused Kristoff of being that cruel.

As for Elsa, she was staring with a face devoid of expression but her eyes were swimming with emotions and brimming with tears. He had sounded so broken, so sure that he was undeserving of their help. Her hands had still been on his face when he'd spoken and in her horror she'd let them slip down to his shoulder. She had felt his muscles tighten as he flinched yet again and now she could feel the small tremors as he fought back the sobs he so desperately wanted to release. Hadn't she once felt the same way? She had believed herself to be the monster and had locked herself away from her sister with the condolence that she deserved to be alone. Even when she had shown her powers on that disastrous night of her coronation, she had fled to the North Mountain and hidden up there believing that she deserved to be alone and away from others. She had believed she deserved to locked up in solitude for her supposed crimes.

All three shared a look before all breaking out with what they so desperately wanted to say.

"Hans, you don't deserve this. I mean, sure you were a jer-…hm…but you were so nice and-and…you just don't deserve this!" Anna pleaded, wringing her hands as she spoke.

"Listen, I don't care what you say….we're going to get you out of here and make sure that you're safe." Kristoff replied gruffly. He folded his hands over his chest to keep from giving in to his desire to hug the poor man.

Hans slowly looked up from the blood stained floor and looked at them with haunted eyes, red rimmed with tears. Anna fought the urge to cry and Kristoff again fought the desperate urge to wrap the thin man in a hug.

"Hans." Elsa's voice was soft and unwavering. Hans slowly turned to face her. Unlike Anna and Kristoff, she was eye level with him having crouched down earlier to calm him down. She wasn't smiling and her eyes had too many emotions in them for him to pick one but her face was calming. "Listen to me, you don't deserve this. Nobody does."

Hans opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut when Elsa's hands cupped his face. She could feel the hollow jut of his cheekbones, the swollen flesh, and the fresh blood that was slowly leaking out of gaping cuts. Hans found himself drawn to her blue eyes. For a moment they sat just staring at one another and slowly, painfully slow, Hans relaxed his shoulders minutely. Elsa smiled a small smile and Hans found himself feeling shocked when he realized that this smile didn't make him flinch. This smile was shockingly warm, an irony considering it came from the Ice Queen herself. He was even more shocked when he found himself willing to believe anything she said.

"You are not the monster they fear you to be." Elsa said slowly.

Han's eyes widened and he gazed into Elsa's now bemused face. She had remembered. He too remembered that night all those months ago when he'd tried to calm down the furious Queen in her palace of ice, a moment before he'd messed everything up. He had gone not really having a finely detailed plan and he remembered seeing her, her powers being used in a fearsome display that had struck him breathless. He had reached out hoping his words could reach her and had actually been shocked when she had responded, as if his words had actually meant something to her. She had remembered his words. Hans felt that small feeling of hope grow just a fraction along with something he had long ago forgotten he could feel.

"O-okay." He finally croaked out.


	12. Chapter 12

Again, I own nothing! I would just like to give a heads up to anyone reading this that there might not be an update for a few days. Sorry! I'm going home for the weekend and I haven't seen my family in forever so I don't really want to be writing instead of being with them so I'm not going forever and I promise I'll be back!

Elsa smiled brightly for the first time since they'd landed on the Southern Isles. Hans didn't quite know how to react to that. Smiles were often equated with pain or humiliation but this smile didn't seem to fit any of the ones his brother's had sported. This one was genuinely happy and a bit proud. Hans couldn't remember anyone looking at him with pride, ever, even before his blunder in Arandalle. He found himself soaking in the smile briefly before looking back at the floor while trying to sort out the emotions that were churning through his muddled mind. He hadn't really slept in what felt like ages and every muscle felt like lead had been poured through his veins. How could he ever hope to understand Elsa's smile while his mind spun sideways like it was?

Thankfully he didn't have too long to ponder. Elsa looked up at Anna and Kristoff who were also smiling happily at Hans' words. Hans twisted his brows together in confusion. Why did they all seem so….pleased with him? He couldn't make anybody happy unless he was begging for mercy and shrieking in pain and even then the other party's joy was bitter and cruel, only brought about at his expense. Their smiles were like those he'd remembered from that party at Elsa's coronation. The smiles of people who were happy with life in general and glad to just be with the people they were with. How could they be that happy with him of all people? Hans shook his head and gave up even trying to work it out.

"All right. Now, Kristoff is going to help you since you can't exactly do so on your own." Elsa said this with a grimace of apology, not quite willing to point out all of Hans' shortcomings at the moment.

Hans looked down at his shackled legs. They were too thin to really be of any use but when you added the fact that he hadn't eaten in weeks and had barely any energy to hold his head up, the result was a pair of utterly useless legs that couldn't support a chicken let alone Hans. He felt as useless as his legs in that moment. He couldn't even offer his assistance in standing up, he was utterly at their mercy. That fact didn't bother him as much as it should have considering that he'd been at their mercy when Elsa had opened the cell door, he'd had plenty of time to get used to that fact.

"Umm…Elsa?" Anna asked softly. All eyes turned to her as she squirmed slightly. "I don't mean to say anything against you, goodness no, I mean you're my sister and…the Queen and you're really, really good at that-"

"What, Anna?" Elsa asked, a bit of amusement in her words.

"Oh, it's just…..can't you take those off?" Anna asked and pointed at the chains on Hans' legs.

Elsa's face went pale in horror as she looked down at the grimy chains still digging into the flesh on Hans' ankles.

"Oh, I forgot about that." Elsa whispered.

"I-it's okay. M-my arms are f-free and l-like you said, my l-legs are useless anyways. With th-these on you c-can be sure I w-won't run. I'd still b-be your p-prisoner officially." Hans said the words softly, his head hanging low. His words were surprisingly not spoken with the usual quaver of fear but rather said with a deep sorrow.

"Hans." Elsa said softly, reaching out for him.

Hans hunched his shoulders up high and sunk his head low, refusing to look up from the ground. He had to let them know that he understood. No matter what pretty words they said, he had screwed up and deserved to be punished for his crimes. It didn't matter if they got him out of here, he was still a prisoner. His heart rejoiced at the prospect of escaping this particular cell and the tortures that accompanied it but he knew he was destined for another one. He only hoped that the one these three were taking him to had just a bit more leniency in the punishment part and that they'd just let him sit in the darkness without the cruelty his brothers had used. No, Hans was still a prisoner and he needed those chains to remind him of that fact, to keep his heart from growing too hopeful.

Elsa gazed at him with shrewd eyes. She took in the forlorn slump of his shoulders, the humiliated bow of his head. He wouldn't accept any words that they were too say to him right now. If they were to break through to him they'd need to show him. Despite her desire to break the chains right now she knew it would be best to hold off for a bit. He'd been tortured for too long and didn't seem to know how to handle their kindness. In fact, their soft words and gentle touches seemed to scare him more than anything. He'd experienced enough for one day. The chains would have to wait just a little longer. But not too long. Elsa grimaced with disgust as she took in the blood on top of the dirty chains. He'd survived this long with them on, one more night couldn't hurt.

"Listen-" Kristoff started to say but Elsa raised up her hand and cut him off. She tried to speak with her eyes and Kristoff didn't really understand what she was trying to communicate but she seemed to act as she knew what she was doing and she was his Queen after all. So, he let the matter drop, intending to flat out ask her about it later.

"Okay. Now, Kristoff is going to help you up and we're going to take you to his room." Elsa said softly but with no room for argument in her voice. Hans looked up from the ground and stared at her with a lost expression. "We need for you to be as silent as possible. We can't let anyone know that we have you, alright?"

Elsa stared intently at Hans. His foggy brain struggled to come up with an answer. Finally he registered that she was waiting for him to prove he'd understood. He opened his mouth but found that no words would come out and opted to just nod his head slightly.

"Good." Elsa said with a soft smile. She slowly stood up and nodded at Kristoff.

The giant man straightened with the subconscious duty he hoisted on himself whenever he was called in to protect someone he cared about. He always chose the role of protector when he could. He had done so for all of his sibling, cousins, Sven, and even Anna. Now he felt that old mantle of protector once more as he carefully walked over to Hans. Kristoff would protect the thin red-head with his life if that was required of him. Nobody would lay a finger on the man if Kristoff could help it and Heaven help the poor soul who dare come between Kristoff and Hans in that moment.

Hans was aware that Kristoff didn't seem to have intentions of inflicting pain, that none of them seemed to condone what his brothers had done and he tried desperately to repeat that thought over and over in his head but when Kristoff started coming closer he broke out into a cold sweat. He tried to remind himself that Kristoff didn't mean his brother's 'help' but rather the help that got him out of here but when Kristoff's boot got within kicking range he lost all track of his careful logic and started breaking out into his mental pleas for mercy.

Kristoff swallowed deeply when he noticed Hans curling up slightly. The poor man began to shake with fear like he had when they'd first seen him. With every step Kristoff took Hans uttered a desperate cry or whine. Kristoff's heart broke at the sight. Anna found she could no longer watch the scene and bit her lip while turning to gaze up at the ceiling. Every whimper that came out from Hans stabbed at her heart and with each step Kristoff took came a new cry and with every cry Anna let another tear slip out from her green eyes.

Elsa reached out with one hand to start brushing Hans' hair back. He flinched at the touch before again leaning in to it but his shoulders refused to relax and he didn't stop shaking or crying as Kristoff got closer. He was terrified.

Kristoff finally was standing next to Hans and tried to keep his own hands from shaking as he reached down and wrapped the small man in his arms. He tried not to notice Hans' terrible flinch as he swung him up off the ground. Hans tried to stop shaking himself but found he couldn't and he was left trembling softly enough to make his chains rattle faintly. Kristoff felt something warm dribble onto his hand that was holding onto Han's back and had the awful feeling that it was blood. He could feel every bone in Hans' back and his fingers were able to rest on each of Hans' ribs. His other hand was wrapped around Hans' legs just a little too easily and he could feel the deep laceration that was slowly oozing. Kristoff tried to will himself to carry Hans like he would a delicate sculpture of ice; as carefully and gently as you possibly could.

Anna finally looked down and fought back a small smirk. Hans looked like a small child wrapped up in Kristoff's large arms. Hans was still shaking and he looked like a rotten piece of pummeled meat, but in Kristoff's arms she knew he was safe. As for Kristoff, he looked absolutely terrified, almost the same expression on his face as when he'd first officially asked Anna out on a date. Hans would be safe for the moment, Kristoff would make sure of that and that was enough for Anna at the moment.

Elsa also watched Kristoff pick up Hans and she felt her heart sputter and skip a few beats as she did. Kristoff would be gentle but would Hans be able to handle it? She was torn between wanting Hans to see how gentle Kristoff could be and how he wouldn't hurt him, and wanting Hans to just black out and not suffer as he was.

"So….we ready?" Kristoff asked, turning to look at both girls with a raised eyebrow.

"I am absolutely, hundred percent positive that I am ready to leave this creepy, dark, dirty place." Anna said with an exaggerated shudder and skipped ahead of Kristoff.

"I agree with my sister on that one." Elsa said with a smirk and gestured for Kristoff to lead the way.

Hans watched Anna skip ahead, so full of life and joy as she did. He then looked up at Kristoff who seemed almost terrified and yet a little relieved. Then his eyes slowly moved to Elsa who was staring at him with an unfathomable gaze. Just seeing her made him calm down ever so slightly. It must be something with her eyes he thought. Slowly the trio and Hans made their way out of the gloomy dungeons.


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry for the long wait! I had too much fun with my family and then I had to spend a day driving back to my apartment where I decided I was too tired to write and fell asleep! So I know this is short and a little rushed but I was eager to get to the next chapter and I'm still a little tired and not quite with it so I hope you enjoy! Oh, and I still don't own this.

They were careful to avoid making even the slightest sound and one could feel the tension that surrounded them like a thick fog. Anna was the first in the odd group and she quickly dashed down each hall to peer around corners and listen next to doors to see if anyone was coming or awake. She had a lot of practice in trying to divine the happenings behind locked doors and now it seemed the years of practice were paying off. When she heard the faint shuffle or cough from an occupied room she made a large show of being extra quiet so the others knew to be wary of that particular door.

Kristoff willed his large boots to make no noise and he tried to imagine that they were walking on powdery snow and each fallen flake was muffling the sound of his steps. It didn't help. With each step he imagined that the sound just produced was echoing as loud as crunching ice that snapped and filled the frozen air when in reality his soft boots barely made the faint scuffle of a small mouse. He watched Anna with worried eyes and anytime she would point out a room to be cautious of he would go so far as to hold his breath as he crossed past. His arms would unconsciously tighten on Hans each time they rounded a corner or passed an occupied room. Nobody was taking him from his arms.

Elsa made even less noise than the others. She was silent as death as she crept behind Kristoff. Her hands were balled into tight fists, ready to strike out with her ice if anyone dared open their door. She held a secret fear that Theodo would creep out from the shadows and snatch Hans away. She didn't doubt her abilities to fights or even Kristoff's for that matter but there was just something about his eyes that seemed deadly. There was no one here besides Hans who seemed to know just how powerful and sly the King was and Hans' inability to form a sentence without stuttering or see somebody without flinching were not great testimonies to a weak King who would easily go down. No, Elsa felt as though Theodo was someone to be feared. Her ice blue eyes took in every shadow and willed each one to remain as empty as they had been when she'd snuck down this hall by herself.

Hans, for his part, was the quietest of the group and this required the greatest effort. Kristoff had boots that muted each step, Elsa had years of practice teaching her how to be silent, and Anna was creeping across the frozen floors in soft slippers that kept her every step silent. Hans fought to keep from giving in to the instinct to shiver and shake as the motion would rattle the chains still on his feet. Every step Kristoff took rattled them just faintly and Hans found himself biting down on his lips as he willed his useless feet to remain still. He wanted to whimper when Kristoff tightened his hold on his narrow shoulders. He could feel Kristoff's fingers unintentionally digging into his recently bruised flesh or his nails accidently scraped a freshly bleeding slash on his tender back. With each slip of Kristoff's hands Hans bit his lip harder and scrunched his eyes shut, willing himself not to make a noise.

He'd done this before and he'd done it through harder conditions. His brothers had tortured him with a far darker intent to hurt and humiliate than Kristoff's accidental pushing of a bruise. He had suffered through pain meant to rip awful screams from his mouth and had remained silent through it all save for a few escaped murmurs and the never ending stream of tears that poured down his face. But there was something about the way Kristoff held him that made these accidental slights seem so much worse. When his brothers had stormed down to his small cell they had made no pretenses of why they were there. Their treatment was callous and harsh from the moment they flung his cell door open. Kristoff was holding him tightly but not painfully so. His grip was warm and comforting, holding Hans as if he were precious cargo. Something about this touch made Hans feel safe even if he fought vainly to deny this feeling in his head. This touch made him want to cry and let out every hurt that he still carried in his heart but there was no denying the anxious feeling that was hovering thickly over all of their heads. That anxious cloud was enough to silence him and he closed his eyes tighter and felt the warm sticky feeling of blood slipping out from where he'd bitten too hard on his swollen lip.

"Guys, we're here!" Anna whispered excitedly. Her eyes lit up brightly as if she were a child who'd just announced that her team had just won the game.

Kristoff, despite the tension he'd been carrying in his muscles, smiled brightly at the love of his life. There was no stopping Anna's enthusiasm and her joyous whisper was like a sun breaking through the dark clouds of horror that had descended over them. Elsa too found herself smiling at her little sister. Anna was almost impossible to keep sad for too long. You could heap years of injustice and hurt on her and in then end she would still find a way to keep smiling.

"It would appear so." Elsa said. "Kristoff, I know you were planning on having a room to yourself but given the circumstances I feel that Hans should stay with you."

Kristoff turned his head around and gave Elsa a determined look before nodding solemnly. Hans was his responsibility for the night.

"Aw..you mean we won't get to braid his hair and talk about chocolate all night?" Anna whispered in a mocking tone. Elsa and Kristoff smirked at the smiling red head.

Hans' eyes had tracked every speaker up to this point and upon hearing Anna's words he felt himself blush. Deep inside of his carefully locked up heart he felt the smallest twinge of happiness and he briefly dwelled on the humerous image Anna was imagining. He fought down the strangest impulse to laugh but then he knew he'd never stop and soon he'd end up looking like an utter fool in front of all of them. The faint smile that had been dancing in the corners of his lips quickly faded at that thought. He looked down at his useless and still shakled legs.

"_Not that they don't believe me a fool anyways."_ He thought with a deep sorrow. His brothers mocking words echoed in his head as the trio continued talking in hushed whispers around him. How long would it be before the realized what they had done?

He felt his body jostle as Kristoff moved and he quickly jerked out of his internal musings so quickly he felt his neck snap. Kristoff chose to ignore the reaction and continued leading the two girls to his still open room.

"Right ….here!" Anna said and proudly pointed to a spot on the bed. Kristoff nodded his head and gently placed the now shaking Hans on the bed. When they had entered the doors Hans had begun shaking horribly again, as if Kristoff's room were freezing and considering the icicles dangling from the ceiling when Elsa had been emotional and desperate, communicating the story of Hans, it wasn't too far a stretch to assume that the room was cold.

Hans looked from one face to another as he body tried to take in the foreign softness of the bed. He had no idea what to do, what to expect, what they wanted from him and this terrified him. He fought back the urge to whimper.

"Good night sideburns!" Anna said softly and quickly left the room. Hans flinched slightly when Elsa touched his face but leaned into the familiar touch as she stroked back his hair.

"Goodnight Hans. We'll be right down the hall if you need us and Kristoff won't let anything happen to you." Elsa said softly. Her eyes travelled over to Kristoff who was whispering his own goodnight to Anna. Hans looked at them and then back to Elsa who was staring at him with an odd warmth that made that small place in his heart light up ever so slightly.

"You're safe now." Elsa whispered in his ear and Hans fought back the strong urge to believe her words.


	14. Chapter 14

I am so sorry for not adding this last night! I got busy with homework and completely forgot so as an apology I've made this longer than I normally make my chapters! Again I own nothing and thank you for your reviews and for following me! Enjoy….

Hans watched with a numb dread as Anna and Elsa left the room leaving him and Kristoff behind. Kristoff had yet to turn around and Hans was left to stare at the wide back that reminded him of Theodo and the thought made his stomach turn unpleasantly. He half wished that Elsa would come back and say she was going to stay with him but he supposed there were probably reasons why she didn't. Chief among them being that he was a guy and she was a girl but there was also the fact that he'd once tried to kill her and in all honesty Kristoff was the only one he hadn't tried to murder and the giant man could reasonably hold his own against the now weakened Hans if he even tried to fight him in the middle of the night.

Hans looked down at his weak legs that were still shaking faintly. Fat chance of that. He couldn't even stand up on his own let alone take on the giant man who had carried him through the castle. Besides the obvious physical defects, Hans' heart just wasn't into figuring out how to escape. He'd long ago accepted the idea that he was never getting out of the dungeons below and the knowledge had settled into his veins with a weary dread and a heavy sorrow. Now that he was free his heart just hadn't quite accepted the truth. There were flickers of bright emotions inside of him but the suffocating sorrow still clung heavily and flooded through his veins leaving a numb feeling that just ached everywhere. Some part of his brain tried to remind him that he should be happy and jumping with joy but the rest of him was just too tired and scared to even dare recognize the joy in his supposed freedom. No, he wasn't free. He was just being moved from one cell to another. Hans would never be free. This was his fate and he'd chosen it all on his own when he decided to take the crown from Elsa.

Anna kissed Kristoff on the cheek and dashed quickly to her room. Exhaustion made her body slump ever so slightly and her green eyes lacked the usual spark they always had. She just wanted to curl up in her blankets and forget everything for just one night. The sight of Hans still haunted her mind and her emotions were too vivid and confusing for her to sift through them all. Just being in the same room as the frail man was enough to drain her and now she wanted to just pretend it hadn't happened and worry about how she was supposed to feel later. Maybe Elsa could help her. Her older sister had seemed like she knew what she was doing earlier, perhaps she could share her secrets with Anna.

Elsa followed after her sister but turned around one last time to look at Hans. The man was trembling ever so slightly, as if he weren't even conscious of the movement. His head was bowed in shame and his eyes looked so haunted and as if he were moments away from crying. He looked so fragile, so broken and Elsa tried not to cry. She didn't know exactly what was going through his head but she figured she had a pretty good guess as to why he seemed so melancholy. It was why he hadn't asked them to take off the chains on his legs. He still imagined himself to be chained, imprisoned for the rest of his life. He couldn't rejoice at their help because he was stuck in the firm idea that he didn't deserve it, that he was unworthy of their affection, unworthy of any positive feeling. His body was free but his heart was still chained to the wall in his cell just waiting for the new round of hurt and humiliation.

Elsa bit her lip hard. She wanted to just rush back in the room and hold Hans tightly while she willed him to understand their intentions and open up his heart. But that was foolish and it wouldn't work anyways. In matters like these there are no quick fixes, no shortcuts. It took endless dedication and hard work and even then the success may be few and in between. You cannot fix a person in a few days. The sad reality of life is that it takes such a short time to break a person but years to fix them back up. This would not be easy but as Elsa looked at the broken man who was a moment away from sobbing, she decided that she would do whatever it took to fix him.

Kristoff watched Anna leave and stood silently as Elsa shut the door softly behind her and then dashed after the Queen. He opened the door and reached for Elsa's shoulder. Elsa turned around with a puzzled look but her eyes were far away from Kristoff.

"Why didn't you take the chains off of his legs?" Kristoff whispered. His voice wavered with a faint disgust, not for Elsa but for the chains which had looked absolutely filthy and were horrid to witness.

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Because Hans has been through a lot today and has a lot to take in. As awful as it sounds, taking those chains off would do more harm than good at the moment."

"How?" Kirstoff asked, his brows knotted in confusion. Elsa let out a deep sigh.

"Because he still believes that he will be going back to jail."

"WHAT?" Kristoff whispered loudly "That's unb-….we have to tell him that we're not that-that barbaric!" Kristoff turned back to the room but was stopped by Elsa's hand grabbing onto his shirt.

"Agreed. We will not be treating him the way his….brothers" Elsa said the word as if it were poison "had, but right now he's frightened and doesn't understand what we're doing."

"Helping him is what I thought it was." Kristoff mumbled.

"Yes but he doesn't understand that. We frighten him. With those chains on he has a certain peace in believing that he understands our motives. If we were to take them off tonight he'd be terrified with nothing to help him calm down. We need him to be quiet for tonight and worry more about how to get him out of here than if he's going to slip into a panic attack." Elsa said with a careful patience. She needed Kristoff to understand and the man was sometimes too soft hearted for matters like this.

She knew that he wanted nothing more than to heal Hans in one night with hugs and promises of freedom. Those chains pained Kristoff every time he saw them and Elsa knew that but she had to get him to understand that people can't be fixed in one day, or one night. Hans needed those chains for just a while longer, for his sanity. Kristoff looked torn between standing stubbornly against the idea and resigning himself to the fact that Elsa understood what was going on better than he did. He didn't see how anyone could be happier with those chains digging into their ankles but then again he didn't understand how brothers could do that to their younger sibling. He let out a sigh and seemed to shrink with the movement.

"All right. But just for tonight."

"Thank-you." Elsa said with a smile. "And if you need us-"

"Don't worry. I'm not stupid enough to try to take care of a problem all on my own." Kristoff said with a smile.

Elsa said goodnight and went after Anna while Kristoff turned slowly and went back to his room. He avoided looking at Hans and settled for looking around the room until he saw the heavy chest of drawers on the one side of the room. With a sly grin he easily picked it up (honestly, Sven weighed a lot more) and placed it down in front of the door. It would take a bit for anyone to get in now and that left him a few seconds of bought time just in case he fell asleep during the night and someone tried to come back for Hans.

Feeling slightly proud of his work he turned and found himself staring into Hans' haunted eyes. The shadows under them were thick from sleepless nights. Kristoff swallowed thickly. Hans one eye was swollen almost shut and the light from the candles on the wall made the bruising seem much more vivid and sickly. The lights seemed to emphasize the color of the bruises and suck out any color he had in his pale skin. Hans looked like a mess. It had been an awful enough sight down in the dungeons but somehow seeing it in the cheerful room made it seem so much worse. This awful display of human depravity did not belong in a rich and welcoming room. They were two opposites of the world and somehow they had collided. Kristoff fought the instinct to wrap Hans in a tight hug. He caught himself humming the song he'd made up long ago, the one about reindeers being better than people and he wondered for a brief moment if Hans would agree?

"Do you think reindeers are better than people?" Kristoff blurted out. Crap. He wasn't all that great at socializing and part of the reason he and Anna got along so well was that neither of them were real experts in talking to others. Kristoff felt himself turning bright red as Hans titled his head while gazing at him with confusion.

"An….interesting question." Hans finally said, his voice still sounding like a rusted door. Kristoff found himself unable to say anything, still frozen with embarrassment.

"I-I have to say….I don't know m-many r-reindeers. Although I do know h-h-horses." Hans forced himself to say. He looked up at Kristoff who was as red as some of the banners in the castle and slowly his face took on a faint smile. It was like when the sun begins to peek out from grey clouds and Kristoff felt himself beaming back.

Hans' smile was fainter than the light from stars and the movement had stretched a few bruises and revealed a couple of fading scars but it was still a genuine smile and Kristoff felt ridiculously ecstatic. He went to step forward and jump on the bed with Hans but when he stepped closer Hans found himself flinching and his eyes darted down to the bed as a blush crawled down his face. Kristoff paused mid step and cursed himself for chasing away Hans' smile. Of course. One smile didn't mean he was fixed, it just meant there was hope and that hope was what Kristoff tried to cling to.

"I-I'm s-sorry." Hans whispered faintly. He felt so humiliated. He was no better than an animal.

"Hey, don't worry about it….that bed was too small for both of us anyways." Kristoff said warmly.

Hans looked at the massive bed and then looked up at Kristoff with a raised brow. There was enough room on the bed for three Kristoffs and Hans now took up less space than even Anna with his starved, malnourished frame. He knew Kristoff was lying but why?

Kristoff caught the look in Hans' eyes and shrugged as if it were no big deal and then slowly leaned over to grab a couple of pillows and a blanket before dropping them onto the floor.

"W-what are-" Hans cut himself off and flinched. Never ask questions.

"I'm sleeping on the floor." Kristoff said as if it were obvious.

"B-but…..I-I can m-move!" Hans said, panicked. He didn't want this man to find a reason to punish him later and this seemed like a major infraction.

"Woah, calm down buddy." Kristoff said with a laugh "I've slept on way worse before. This is no big deal. You just go to sleep and we'll call it even."

Hans didn't really like this but found himself nodding his agreement. Maybe agreeing with the man would keep him away from his fists. It seemed that the blonde giant approved of his response because he smiled before rearranging the blanket to his desires. Hans slowly sank back into the ridiculously soft bed and fought the desire to cry for the ache that settled deep in his bones. He couldn't remember anything this soft and it almost seemed to hurt him.

He couldn't stop shaking and his stomach writhed awfully but the foreign softness of the bed was pulling him deeper and deeper and the faint sound of Kristoff's breaths strangely calmed Hans down. Maybe it was knowing that there was somebody else in the dark, somebody who was unconcerned and calm. Whatever the reason, Hans felt himself fighting to keep his eyes open and then he gave up on even that. It wasn't so much that he fell asleep as it was what he'd been doing for months, falling into a deep unconsciousness.


	15. Chapter 15

Thank-you so much for your many reviews and I hope I don't disappoint any of you! The next two chapters won't have much plot wise (I know, I'm terrible) but I just wanted to take a moment and just establish the psyche of the characters so that it's easier to understand their motives later on….thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! I still own nothing!

Anna curled up in the blankets as a thin line of drool slowly crept down her cheek. She was lost in the deep imagination that we call dreams.

"Elsa, catch me!" a small Anna cried cheerfully as she jumped from ice pile to ice pile. Below her was a younger Elsa who was giggling and laughing without a care in the world. They were so young and unburdened with any cares that their older selves were so often plagued with.

"Anna you're being silly." Elsa giggled. Anna smiled and jumped into the air once more with the surety that a small child possessed that there would soon be snow beneath her feet that would keep her from falling.

"Not as silly as you."

"No, just sillier."

The two small girls laughed back and forth with their childish insults until Anna jumped once more.

"Anna! Look out!" Elsa cried. Anna was too busy jumping to really stop and she jumped once more into the air only this time there was no snow to stop her from slamming into the frozen floor below her.

"Ow! That hurt!" Anna cried softly, cradling her arm which was bleeding slightly on the elbow. She looked up with large green eyes for Elsa and found herself staring at an empty room.

"Elsa?" she whispered in a faint voice. The ice they'd just been playing in moments before now seemed much colder, more threatening than playful. The room was too cold and Anna began to shiver. She slowly crawled to her feet and fought to keep from slipping on the ice that covered the ground. The frost on the floor was cold enough to feel like it was biting at her bare feet and she shivered awfully in her small nightgown.

"Elsa?" she said a little louder but nothing answered her small voice.

The small Anna slowly crept across the room. "Olaf!" She said happily when she caught sight of the loveable snowman, and she raced towards him. "Olaf I missed you so-" Anna cut herself off as she finally came face to face with the snowman. He wasn't moving, he was just a snowman, one without the spark of life Elsa had given him. This was just a pile of snow with blank eyes that stared without seeing and sat there frozen for as long as the air around him was cold.

"Elsa!" Anna cried out loudly her green eyes desperately searching the empty room for anyone. It seemed too lonely, too empty in this room. It was as if nothing moved or breathed except Anna and she suddenly felt desperately alone yet she couldn't shake the notion that something was watching her. She turned around and gazed at frozen walls. There was nothing there but she could feel the heavy weight of eyes on her shoulders. Panic clogged her throat and soon she was racing out of the room and down frozen hallways.

"Elsa where are you?" Anna wailed as she raced for their rooms.

She skidded to a dead stop just managing to stop herself before running into the jagged icicles that jutted out from the floor and ceiling. "ELSA!" she wailed as the icicles slowly grew and advanced on her. Desperately she pleaded for her sister to come out from wherever she was hiding. She took off running again and peered around her shoulder to see the icicles chasing her as they had so long ago when Hans had tried to lock her in the room to freeze to death.

Doors and halls passed in a blur as she ran until she found herself racing through a black door and down into the area where Arandelle held its prisoners. She looked up as a loud crunch signaled that the ice was trying to break down the door. Anna panted in fear as she slowly backed up into a locked cell door.

"Do…you wanna…build a snowman?" the voice came from behind the door. It was hoarse but seemed to flow softly, a musical voice. Anna jumped and spun around.

"Hello?" She whispered but the voice didn't respond. "Hello?" she repeated again. Anna gulped deeply and looked up to see a small latch that would let her see into the cell and it seemed to be within reach of her small child's body. With trembling fingers she opened the latch and peeked in.

The cell was frozen and carpeted in tendrils of ice. Sitting in the middle of the cell with her arms chained to the floor was a young Elsa. She looked as though she had withered to almost nothing and seemed half buried in the shadows of cells, as though they were trying to consume her. Her white hair wasn't in a braid and hung around her face in unkempt tangles.

"Elsa…." Anna whined in a horrified whisper. Slowly, Elsa raised her head and pinned Anna with a dead look. Anna felt her legs giving out on her. "Elsa please." Anna whined, trying to reach in through the small slot to reach her sister but Elsa couldn't move her arms far enough to reach Anna.

Crunch. Anna whipped her head around to see the ice had broken down the door and was shooting up quickly and would soon impale her. With wide eyes she looked back at Elsa.

"Elsa! Please let me in! Please open the door!" She screamed. Elsa tried to reach for her sister but the chains didn't let her hands move from the floor. "ELSA!" Anna screamed and tried to reach farther.

"I'm a monster." Elsa said and it seemed to echo loudly as the shadows around her grew and started to swallow the pale girl.

"Elsa!" Anna screamed. The ice seemed to moan as it advanced on the crying red head. "Elsa no! Please just let me in!"

The shadows and almost completely devoured her sister until all that was left was Elsa's eyes and Anna watched as the familiar blue morphed into Hans' green eyes and they were just as dead as Elsa's had been. "I'm a monster." His voice said before the darkness swallowed him and Elsa whole.

"ELSA!" Anna cried out one last time and the ice jumped out behind her.

Anna woke with her heart pounding and gasped loudly before curling in herself tightly, fighting back the aching sobs that plagued her.

Next to her Elsa lay with problems of her own. She hadn't slept since laying down on her bed, she didn't even try. Her brain was too busy running through every scenario they'd encounter tomorrow and planning for everything, there needed to be a plan and a backup plan for every action they would make. They needed to get Hans out but the question was how? They'd gotten him out of his cell easy enough but that was the easy part. Tomorrow they'd be leaving the Southern Iles, thankfully, but how did they sneak Hans out? The princes and the king knew how many people they'd brought into the castle so it wasn't like they could pretend Hans was a soldier. Besides, an outfit wouldn't be enough to conceal the identifying features that made up Hans. It also didn't help that he looked like a rancid piece of meat with enough bruises and jutting bones to make anyone look twice.

So walking him out of the door was out of the question. Maybe they could plan to stay another day and sneak him out in the dead of the night? But that would require another day here and if Elsa knew Kristoff and Anna, they wouldn't be able to keep their faces neutral enough to avoid their plot being revealed. No, that wouldn't work. Perhaps they'd just declare an all-out war and Elsa would freeze the guards and Kristoff would knock a few unconscious while the Arandalle guards took out the stragglers but that would mean a war and then they'd have to fight their way out through the city and that would just be a disaster. So how were they meant to get Hans out?

Elsa jumped slightly when she felt Anna flinch. She could hear Anna's labored breathing and felt her sister trembling with effort of not crying. Her brain was too full of extensive planning and Han's haunted eyes and frail body flinching to really think of a comforting word to say and the only thing she could think to do was to reach out and pull Anna closer. It seemed that that was the only thing that was required because as soon as Anna felt her hand she reached over and buried her face in Elsa's neck as she took in shuddering gasps and sobs. Elsa held on and leaned into Anna's red hair.

Unbeknownst to either of them was that the two men in Kristoff's room were having just as sleepless a night as they were.


	16. Chapter 16

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Life caught up to me and I got a little….depressed and when I get that way I don't really have much inspiration in writing….it gets pretty hard to make the words come out so I just took a break and listened to music, while also trying to stay on top of school and my life so thanks for being patient! ^-^

Kristoff tossed and turned on the floor, his fists clenching and unclenching as his dreams swirled on. Sweat poured down his face and made his clothes clung to his body as he rolled around and whimpering softly.

He raced across the frozen fjords and felt Sven's heartbeat racing beneath him as he urged the reindeer on faster and faster. Anna was somewhere in the frozen mists. She was in trouble somewhere in there, freezing and dying. He could barely hear anything over the roaring of the wind but suddenly he could hear the loud groan of the ice cracking beneath Sven's hooves. With wide eyes he looked behind him to see the ice cracking behind them and swiftly catching up.

"Faster Sven!" he cried and the poor reindeer tried but he was already going his fastest and not even the adrenaline could move him any further. With a mighty groan the ice beneath them disappeared leaving Sven enough time to buck Kristoff off of his back and onto the still solid ice.

"SVEN!" Kristoff cried desperately as he watched his beloved reindeer disappear beneath the frozen waters.

The wind stopped howling and the world became hauntingly silent. Tears began pooling in his eyes when suddenly Sven emerged from the water. The trolls were holding him up and standing on top of one another as they hoisted the reindeer up onto an ice slab in the middle of the shattered ice.

"We've got him Kristoff. We've always got your back." They said with smiles. Kristoff smiled back feeling relieved that they were always there, always there to lend a hand and offer encouragement. "Go save your fiancé!" the urged.

"She's not my fiancé!" he said with a smile before turning around and racing after Anna. With the mists and howling wind gone he could see clearly. The frozen landscape was marred by the occasional boat sticking up through the ice like withered bones. He could see Anna standing just a few feet away. She seemed so small just standing with snowflakes gently landing in her hair.

"Anna." He said softly and raced forward to her.

The closer he got the more he realized that her face was twisted in horror but she wasn't looking at him but rather at something to her right. Kristoff slowed down and turned to see where she was staring and saw Elsa. She was covered in blood and ice, gazing blankly into thin air.

"What's going on?" Kristoff asked, horrified.

"Hans." Was all Elsa could whisper.

"Save him!" Anna cried. Kristoff switched his gaze from the not frozen Anna to the bloody Elsa. "Save him?" he said and slowly turned around.

Hans was sinking into black waters and barely managing to bob on the top with wide eyes gazing into Kristoff's. His face was a bloody mess and bruises littered his bare skin. He fought desperately to stay on top of the water and slowly sinking with each passing second.

"HANS!" Kristoff wailed much like he had when Sven had sunk earlier only this time there would be no trolls to help him up. Kristoff watched in horror as black chains wrapped around Hans and forced him to sink farther and farther until the water was starting to lap up over his lips.

"Kris-" Hans tried to gasp when out from the water came hands that latched onto him and dragged him completely into the black water until nothing was left, not even a couple of air bubbles rising to the surface.

Kristoff surrendered to his instincts and tried to dive in after the red head but found his feet frozen to the ground and he was unable to move.

"HANS!" he cried desperately but the ice on his feet refused to move and slowly the dream faded to the same black color as the water Hans had just disappeared under.

Kristoff quickly sat up and gasped while panting as he tried to calm his racing heart. Slowly the guilt from his failure in saving Hans clogged his throat and forced him to hang his head and hold it with his large hands in shame. He could feel his heart pounding loudly and could do nothing to stop it from racing so quickly. Tears poured from his eyes as he fought to keep himself from surrendering to the despair he was currently drowning in.

Hans twisted and turned minutely trying desperately to not make a sound despite being lost in his nightmares. He clenched his hands tight enough to draw blood from the palms of his hand while biting his lip and reopening wounds from days before.

The world was dark and a faint pinprick of light was hitting his eyes and forcing him to blink and squint against it. He tried to raise his hands to block his eyes but found that his arms were too heavy to even lift up off the ground. As they slumped back to the ground he heard the heavy thunk of thick chains. The ground was too cold beneath him and seemed to sting with icy pinpricks.

Why was he here? He couldn't get his foggy brain to recall anything. Nothing was coming and all he could feel was a heavy exhaustion that pulled him closer and closer to the frozen ground. He just wanted to close his eyes and surrender to the darkness he hoped that Elsa would understand.

Elsa? Why was he thinking of her? The memories slowly swirled back into his brain with the swiftness of an aged turtle crawling through molasses. Elsa had rescued him. Was this the new cell she had thrown him in?

"But of course it is." The deep voice made Hans snap up quickly as a frozen shiver swept down his spine. Theodo.

"N-no. Elsa s-said that she-" Hans tried to stutter.

"Said that she was taking you away from all of this?" Theodo said mockingly.

Hans swallowed deeply and fought to keep his panic from rising. Theodo laughed mockingly and Hans bowed his head as if it would keep him from hearing the sound.

"Oh dear brother of mine how quickly I forget about your stupidity. To think that you actually believed that those people would actually care about you, you the pathetic waste of space who somehow managed to enter into this world despite having no purpose whatsoever. You actually believed it. How could anyone care for you?"

Theodo had yet to show himself and hit Hans but his words stung worse than even Horace's fists and Hans found himself flinching with each word.

"But, but-" Hans couldn't keep himself from stuttering and fought back the sobs that were wrenching out of his chest.

"But what? But she promised? But she was so nice?" Theodo said with a mocking voice.


	17. Chapter 17

Thank- you to everyone who reviewed! Your reviews mean so much to me! To the guest reviewer, thank-you and I intend to listen to all of the songs you recommended. Music really does help me feel better and I always appreciate new ideas! Next chapter is when we leave the Southern Isles! Again, I own nothing….

Hans tried to curl in on himself.

"You tried to kill her, to take her throne by removing her from this world and worse, you tried to kill her sister. You tried to take the only thing that mattered to her in this world and tried to blame it on her. You tried to make her into the monster when deep down you knew….you knew that you were the only monster in that mess and no matter how hard you try to fight it you can't hide your true nature."

Hans found himself shaking and felt the desire to just drown in his tears, anything to keep his brother from talking.

"It was only a matter of time before they figured it out and now you're back." Theodo said and Hans flinched at the sound of his heeled boots clicking.

"We've missed you." He said in a menacing tone.

Hans gulped and looked up with pained eyes as he caught the dark shadows of his twelve older brothers emerging from the shadows of the frigid cell.

"Please don't." Hans whispered.

"Listen to the coward beg. It's a miracle they even decided to drag your useless self out of your cell. We'll have to cure your wandering legs." Theodo said and looked down at Hans' legs with a narrowed gaze. Hans bit back a chocked scream and began to cry.

"You poor little monster. You're where you belong." Theodo whispered into his ear and the words stung like Elsa's ice.

Hans woke up and fought the sheets off of his sweaty body and desperately tried not to choke on his tears.

"Please, please, please no." he whispered and curled tightly into a small ball. Some part of his mind was grateful that he could get his arms around himself and felt as though his hands could keep his shattered heart inside of his skinny, battered body.

How long would it be before they discovered the truth, before they realized that they couldn't save a monster? It wouldn't take too long and eventually they'd know and then this would all end. Hans felt his heart clench tightly and he bit back another sob.

"Hans?" Kristoff's voice sounded a little groggy but it came through the darkness clearly. Hans stiffened instinctively and his nails dug into the flesh on his palms. "Hans you okay?" Kristoff's voice came with a soft shuffling sound and it now sounded a little concerned.

"I-" Hans wanted to reassure the large man and pretend that everything was fine but deep down he didn't feel that way at all and found he was unable to even pretend it was. "I don't k-know." He said softly.

There was silence for a minute and Hans found himself hating it. He hated feeling like he was alone in this room. If there was another voice then he could remember that this wasn't the cell and that he hadn't been left in the dark to rot. Hans really hated being alone.

Then Kristoff sat up and Hans jerked minutely as the large man sat down on the corner of the bed. There was a faint sound as Kristoff turned on a lamp and the room was lit up with a soft glow. Hans screwed his eyes shut at the blinding light and tried to pretend he hadn't seen the worried look on Kristoff's face. It had to be a lie, nobody would really feel concerned about him.

"Wanna talk about it?" Kristoff asked softly. Hans shook his head, still refusing to open his eyes.

Kristoff bit his lip and considered what he should do next. Elsa seemed so much better at this than he was but she was probably sleeping and he didn't want to wake her and Anna up. He could put this off until morning, but Hans looked so terrified as he curled up to take as little space as possible. His already pale skin was even paler and sweat was clinging onto him.

Honestly, Kristoff felt unequipped to speak to Hans. He wasn't even all that great talking to Anna when they'd first met and had chosen to insult and mock her instead of being comforting and gentle with proving his point. What would happen if he mocked Hans while in this fragile state and he ruined any chance of healing him? Still, he couldn't let Hans be alone like this, it went against everything in the blonde's good hearted nature.

"I had a nightmare." He said. Hans slowly opened his eyes and turned to stare at Kristoff with a blank expression. Kristoff felt himself squirming under the dead look. "Yeah….that's…that's why I heard you."

Hans blinked but did nothing to show the fear that was running through him. Had Kristoff heard his darkest fears? Was he angered that Hans had ruined his chances for sleep? Why was he telling Hans this? All of these were running through the red head's mind but his face showed nothing and Kristoff again felt his skin crawl at the blank expression.

"I….do you think that-that I would…..um…no." Kristoff blushed bright red and fumbled with his words. Hans tilted his head slightly. Kristoff took in a deep breath. "I almost lost Sven once." Kristoff finally said in a rush as if he desperately wanted the words out before he changed his mind. Hans narrowed his brows in confusion.

"Sven is my-my reindeer." Kristoff said brightly. He couldn't help but smile when mentioning his beloved reindeer.

"How did you lose him?" Hans croaked. Kristoff snapped his head up and was shocked to see the curiosity in Hans' eyes.

Kristoff cleared his throat. "I….he disappeared under the ice one day," he decided to leave out the fjords seeing as that was probably not a topic Hans would appreciate right now "he bucked me off to safety and sank. I thought I'd lost him forever." Kristoff's eyes glazed over with remembered pain. "I felt like my heart had stopped and the world had frozen in that one moment…and then he came up and managed to get onto a patch of ice." Kristoff smiled faintly. He had never been more relieved in his life than he'd been in that moment.

Kristoff continued to smile before shaking his head lightly in self-reproof and looked at Hans who still seemed confused. "I just, I don't like losing people I care about and I don't want to lose anyone ever again."

Hans felt his mouth dry out as he took in the sincerity that was blazing in Kristoff's eyes. Some small part of him fought to say that Kristoff was including him in that statement but the larger part argued that this was a threat to warn Hans away from touching either Elsa or Anna.

"I p-promise I won't h-hurt anyone." Hans said faintly and then raised his weary arms which were shaking from exhaustion "I don't t-think I re-really could anyways." He said with a sardonic smile which quickly left his face when Kristoff's face grew sad.

He'd screwed up. Big surprise there. It wasn't too late. They could still drop him off in his cell and leave the islands tomorrow without a care. He'd screw everything up like he always did. Hans dropped his head to stare at his manacles.

"I-I'm s-sorry." Hans whispered. The words meant nothing and they stopped nothing but he felt like he had to say them. He could never stop them from coming out of his mouth.

Kristoff fought back a sigh. He had the uncomfortable feeling that he'd made Hans retreat like that. He couldn't help it! He'd tried to tell Hans what he felt about protecting him and he'd missed the point and Kristoff knew he couldn't talk right, his words never came out clearly.

"What was your horse's name?" Kristoff asked suddenly. Hans looked up while still keeping his head bowed.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Your horse. Anna said you had a horse. You said you like horses so what was your horse's name?"

Hans blinked slowly. "Sitron. His name was Sitron." Memories of the proud horse with its playful neigh and lust for snacks came rushing through him. "I don't know about other horses but….but I l-liked him."

"So-" Kristoff started and wondered if asking what had happened to the horse would be in bad taste. "So what was he like?"

"He was silly. He would k-knock people o-over for f-food. He h-hated m-mud." Hans said and smiled softly. His horse had once dumped him in the mud and run away as if the brown gunk would eat the horse alive if it stayed there too long. Hans had had to run home filthy and soaking wet.

Kristoff barked out a laugh. "He sounds like a pretty cool horse!"

Hans smiled faintly. "He was."

"Hans?" Kristoff asked, noticing the slow creeping sorrow on the other man's face.

"I l-lost him. He d-didn't come b-back." Hans whispered. "I always l-lose people."

Kristoff struggled for a moment and then decided. In a second he had reached across the bed and pulled Hans over towards him where he wrapped him in a tight hug. Hans flinched violently when Kristoff's hand had touched him and when the man wrapped his arms around him he'd gone stiff as a board before vaguely remembering what the action was that Kristoff was enacting.

"You won't lose us." Kristoff said with an unwavering emotion. Hans bit his lip to keep from crying.

"Don't s-say things y-you d-don't-" Hans started but Kristoff cut him off.

"Please. Just give me this tonight. Argue tomorrow but just give me tonight." Kristoff whispered. He still hadn't managed to escape the guilt from his failure in the nightmare and he needed to hold onto Hans and remind himself that it was a dream and he hadn't failed.

Hans struggled for a moment. This would end badly. He'd open his heart and when Kristoff and the others left him he'd be left without even his heart and it would hurt so much more. On the other hand, this felt so good. He hadn't been hugged in years and gentle touches were now a foreign concept to him. The memories of Sitron and how he'd lost him….Hans gave in despite knowing how violently it would hurt when this inevitably ended but for now he needed to just pretend for one night. So he gave in.

"I'm s-sorry." Hans said again but this time he didn't quite know if it was for Kristoff or himself.


	18. Chapter 18

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update I just got busy and then Spring Break popped up and it all just came in a rush. I'm sorry this chapter is so short but I needed it to be so the next one can be way too long! I promise I'll try to update more frequently but I don't know how this week will go but I will update again as soon as I can! Again I own nothing!

Everyone closed their eyes and pretended to sleep but nobody caught so much as a slight snooze. The next morning found them all wide awake, albeit slightly exhausted. Elsa got dressed carefully, making sure she kept up the appearance of an untroubled monarch and not give away the troubled and frightened appearance she'd shown last night. Anna tried to match her sister but her hair just didn't seem to braid right and her dress was just a little unprofessional and she could do nothing to keep the shadows and anxiety from off of her pale face.

Elsa took in her little sister's appearance with a slight grimace, taking in the information and calculating what to do next. If only Hans wasn't so terrified. She'd ask her for his help seeing as he'd done so well with trying to take Arandalle, he obviously had a strategic mind but now he couldn't hardly say two words without stuttering and flinching not to mention he had to be too tired to even think two minutes into the future without getting a headache.

"Come on." Elsa said softly to Anna before practically running to Kristoff's room.

Anna rushed to catch up to her sister. "Coming!" she yelled and strived vainly to keep from tripping over her feet as she fought to shove them into shoes and keep up with her sister.

Kristoff was struggling to pull on one of his thick boots while Hans tried desperately to not make a sound as he curled up tightly on the bed. What would happen today? They could both feel the tension in the air as it practically suffocated them but neither was too willing to break the silence. Kristoff for fear that he would say something stupid and Hans for fear of angering the giant blonde man. They both glanced up when they heard the door handle turn and Elsa burst into the room looking every bit the regal Queen they'd come to know.

Seconds later, Anna burst in and tripped to fall into Kristoff's waiting arms. He smiled and pulled her up and close to him for a hug.

"Hi." He said with a small smile.

"Hey there!" Anna said with a smile of her own.

Hans and Elsa watched the scene, Elsa with fondness and Hans with a blank expression. The moment ended when Elsa cleared her throat to catch their attention. Both Anna and Kristoff blushed sheepishly before breaking up the hug but still holding each other's hand. They seemed to be doing more of that recently.

"Okay, so we have a big day ahead of us." Elsa tried to force mock joy into her words but the effort was wasted as everyone felt their stomach's sink at the thought of escaping the Isles. "Now I have a…sort-of plan and I was hoping for feedback." She continued in a more serious tone.

All eyes went to the Queen. Kristoff felt his palms begin to sweat ever so slightly and Anna felt her heart begin to thud. Both replayed their nightmares over again in their head's. Anna couldn't stop herself from hearing Hans and Elsa calling themselves monsters before being lost from her and Kristoff could only see Hans disappearing into the black nothingness as he watched uselessly.

Hans himself felt his heart stop and freeze in his battered chest. This was really happening. He'd once dreamed about escaping, in the first month he'd been in prison. But after a while he'd given up the dreams and stopped thinking about anything, it only seemed to hurt him no matter what he chose to linger on. Now he was finally out and yet, he was still chained and still on the Isles. The fear of being caught, of being taken back were still chasing around and around in his skull and he felt as if he wanted to vomit but he didn't want to be seen doing that. It would only prove to them how foolish he really was.

When Elsa felt all eyes on her she cleared her throat again.

"All right. Now, here's what I was planning to do…"


	19. Chapter 19

Hey everyone! I'm still alive and I'm still going to write this story and there is really no excuse for how long this took but I'm so glad you're all still here! There will be more chapters, I promise.

Elsa stood in the doorway and fought back the wave of revulsion that rammed into her. Theodo was talking with his chamberlain. He stood proudly and gave off an air of importance that even from across the room was intimidating. If it wasn't for the disastrous coronation then Elsa might actually find herself being afraid of this man. As it was she tried to calm her racing her heart and force herself to hide her disgust for the king. She had to for Hans' sake, and for all of theirs. If they were caught it would mean Hell for Hans and possible death or at least injury for them.

She took in one last deep breath and straightened her shoulders before softly walking into the room. Theodo turned his head slightly and smiled warmly at her before turning back to his chamberlain and dismissed him with a slight wave of his hand and a few softly spoken words. The chamberlain gave Elsa a pleasant greeting before walking away quickly with papers clutched tightly in his hands. Elsa stopped a few feet from Theodo and waited for the man to look up from a letter he was scanning.

"I apologize for not greeting you properly earlier but a dear acquaintance of the family just decided to leave a message and a neighboring country demanded a meeting and you understand how inconsiderate they can be." He said and looked up with humor in his dark eyes.

Elsa felt like something thick and slimy was crawling up her throat and struggled to understand how those joyful eyes could have watched the horrors that Hans had endured and if they had been this full of humor now as they were down there in the cells. But for now she had to conceal, she couldn't afford to feel. She let out a soft laugh and rolled her eyes in good humor.

"Oh don't I know. I'd been planning a day with my sister all month when the Lord of Engledan decided a face to face meeting in HIS land was required." She said in a slightly disgruntled tone.

"And I am so sorry that your free day, I know as few as they are, was taken but I'm glad that you could be here in the Southern Isles and grace us with your lovely presence." He casually dropped the letter into his pocket and gave Elsa a beaming smile.

If it weren't for the memories of Hans still burned into her mind, Elsa found she might have actually been charmed by him. He was so confident and his smile was so warm and he just had a mesmerizing voice that could hold a person captive.

"Speaking of lovely presences, where is your charming younger sister and her beau?" he said while looking behind Elsa as if the two would materialize from behind her.

"As much as I wish my sister were here to experience the flattery," her voice was playfully sarcastic "she and Kristoff decided they wanted some alone time and left to go around and shop."

Theodo nodded his head in understanding and smirked slightly. He'd noticed the Queen when she first walked in, how could anyone miss her? She was delicate and in this black castle she stood out like a brilliant diamond. Everything about her was graceful and poised and her eyes were so mysterious. It was usually easy for him to read people, to charm them and play them but Elsa was a mystery. She hadn't fallen for any of his word traps and no matter how hard he tried, he could tell almost nothing about the woman. Even now she was a mystery standing in front of him.

He could be charming, he knew that but nobody really dared to tease him as Elsa had just done. His manner was just a little too intimidating and normally a jab at him was taken quite poorly but Elsa had a way of making it enjoyable and he sincerely hoped she'd prove to be more entertaining as time went on. This would make for an interesting alliance. He placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head slightly in amusment.

"Well I hope that they find the Southern Isles well stocked to their liking." He said.

Elsa gave him a bemused look. "We shall have to see."

Theodo widened his smirk. Yes, this was quite entertaining indeed.

...

"Soooo, what exactly are we doing again?" Kristoff asked softly, leaning down to whisper in Anna's ear.

They were walking together hand-in-hand to the Southern Isles' port. The path was made of smooth stones with sunflowers and red roses on the side. The occasional palm tree swayed slightly in the wind and coconuts littered the green grass as the two walked down to the market.

Anna looked around and stuck her tongue out of her mouth in serious concentration as she looked to make sure nobody could hear them. She moved her fingers to indicate that Kristoff lean in which he did as she stood on her tip toes.

"We're going to go and buy a whole bunch of stuff," she said and waved her hands wildly in the air "and then we're going to ask that they box it up but make it easy to load into a small boat which is what we have."

Kristoff narrowed his eyes in confusion. "How exactly is that going to help us?"

"Well it-" Anna started but stopped and stared blankly ahead of them. "It…I don't really know but Elsa said this was important to the plan." She shrugged her shoulders and walked on.

Kristoff smiled at her and felt his fingers twitch slightly in nervousness. Despite having dated for a while he still found himself getting nervous and embarrassed around her. He shrugged his shoulders and walked quickly to catch up and wrap his fingers around hers. For one moment the two of them tried to pretend that this was just a lovely moment between them instead of part of a plan to get an abused prisoner off of the island. No, for now it was just a beautiful day for two people in love to enjoy the scenery and the beautiful island.

Ahead of them they could see the market place which was bursting with vibrant colors. Red flags and orange banners and golden fabrics/ Each stall was full of merchandise and people laughed and talked happily with one another as coins and items switched hands. Food, fabrics, plants, and odd knick knacks were everywhere in an endless stream of vendors.

"This might actually be fun." Kristoff said, his eyes wide with awe.

"Holy fremoles! This is going to be amazing!" Anna said brightly and grabbed Kristoff's hand tightly before dragging him behind her as she rushed down to the crowd.

...

Hans shifted slightly and felt each of his bruises sing and he winced in pain. Panic was like a monster just leering over him and just a few seconds away from devouring him. He fought to keep it at bay but with every breath he could feel it coming closer and closer. Feeling decidedly helpless, he dug his fingernails into his legs and felt as each nail dug into his skin. It stung awfully but he felt a slight release and the panic seemed to slink away.

He was curled up with his head resting on top of his knees and his arms wrapped firmly around his legs. A small laugh escaped his lips before he bit down on his bottom lip tightly. Somehow he'd gone from sitting miserably in the dark cell to sitting in a dark closet. It was decided that he had to hide and the closet was the best place for him. Now that he was nothing but skin stretched tightly over bones it was easy to hide him from prying eyes.

Hans was aware that he should be feeling miserable and dying to escape the small space he was now trapped in. But he really couldn't feel much of anything except confusion. Today would either end with him being thrown back in jail, never to see light again or it would end with him going to Arandalle with Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff. He couldn't bring himself to be worried, only a listless exhaustion. He was just so tired. Everything on him hurt and he was so tired.

Slowly he felt his head sinking lower and lower until he fell into a heavy sleep, exhaustion having won.


	20. Chapter 20

"So…are we ready?" Anna asked her voice shaking from nerves.

"It doesn't really matter now does it?" Elsa said firmly.

Inside, her heart was pounding and she felt like she had just been submerged under water. Everything was off kilter and sounded muffled. The only clear sound was the pounding of her heart thundering through her veins. Now was the moment and they had no time left to even question it. There was no turning back or slowing down.

"Uh, maybe you should be the one to…" Kristoff trailed off and shuffled his feet nervously. Elsa understood. For whatever reason, Hans seemed the least afraid of her.

She nodded to him and he gave her a grateful smile before the three of them entered Kristoff's room. Inside they all found giant boxes sitting out in the open, the lids carefully stacked to the side. The boxes were big enough to almost fill the entirety of the room.

"Er.." Anna began "we sort of went crazy and we may or may not have several more crates on the ship?" She hunched her shoulders and gave Elsa a nervous smile.

Elsa blew out an incredulous laugh before rolling her eyes and peering inside the crate. Color on color had exploded in the form of several silken outfits with jewels glinting and clinging to every one of them. Deep inside Elsa silently prayed that the other boxes didn't have clothes. There was no reason to ever own that many outfits.

"It's just fine." Elsa said and heard her sister's small sigh of relief. She also caught Kristoff's shoulders drooping with the release of anxiety.

Kristoff smiled at her before he carefully made his way over the drawers on the other side of the room. He raised one large hand and gently knocked on the wooden door. "Hey, you can come out now."

Silence answered him. Kristoff frowned in concern before he pulled on the handle and opened it up. He found himself staring down at the huddled figure of Hans. He was unconscious and his head tilted to the side with his mouth open letting loose small wheezes of breath. His hands were relaxed in sleep and curled faintly. The bruises stood out on his skin and seemed more like the shadows of the closest had wrapped around him.

"Ermm…" Kristoff said and awkwardly shrugged his shoulders. Elsa grimaced helplessly with him when Anna let out a small sigh.

"Oh dear." She said and made her way over to Kristoff.

"We should wake him up, this plan isn't going to go over so well with him being asleep." Elsa said.

Kristoff froze in panic. Something told him that being woken up by a rather large man would not be the best thing for Hans at the moment. Kristoff didn't even want to know how it would feel to see Hans panic and know that he was the cause.

Anna looked up at him and over at Elsa and gave out a huff on annoyance before dropping to the ground beside Hans. She waved Krisoff off. The man gladly retreated behind Elsa. Ann skootched closer to the sleeping man and softly whispered.

"Hey. Sleepy head. Wakey wakedy."

She reached out with her hands and gently stroked over swollen flesh and tried to avoid the nastier bruises. She gently carded her fingers through his hair and tried not to cringe too much at the greasy feel. Her fingers ran into knots and she gently pulled her fingers away before she could tug too hard and hurt him.

He slowly began to stir. Anna could feel the tremors start to quake through his body. His fingers clenched down in the fabric of his pants tightly, making the tendons stand out. She could hear his breathing begin to quicken, growing unsteady and weak.

"Shh. Shh." Anna whispered.

His jaw clenched shut and his whole body stiffened. He let out a faint whimper before slowly opening his eyes. He seemed to be relying heavily on the gently feel of Anna's fingers to keep from breaking. His head was leaning back into Anna's hands but his body was still tense and unyielding.

Anna waited with a thudding heart for him to turn his eyes up from the floor of the closet and look at her. When they did she noted that they looked at her with a raw terror the likes of which she'd seen only once when Elsa had accidently shown her powers and run away.

Hans' adams apple bobbed while he gulped. His breathing came in sharp pants and it seemed like his eyes couldn't quite take in Anna and separate her from his nightmares.

"Shh. It's okay. I'm here." Anna continued to croon. Her fingers still continued to gently stroke his hair, trying to get him into the moment and away from his head.

Hans reached up with a shaking hand and bruised hand, slowly grabbing Anna's arm. She smiled when his fingers gently wrapped around her like she was nothing more than vapor and he was worried she would vanish. He have a test squeeze and Anna watched as a light lit up inside of his green eyes when he realized she was solid and real.

Anna smiled and nodded at his questioning look. Hans froze for one moment and then launched himself at Anna. Elsa and Kristoff flinched at the sudden movement but Anna merely melted into the touch. Hans buried his face in her neck and his twig thin arms wrapped around her tightly, squeezing for all he was worth. It wasn't too tight and Anna felt concern at the weak squeeze and the trembling she could feel against her.

She pushed the thought aside and smiled. "Good. It's okay, I'm here." Her arms wrapped around Hans' thin frame and held him gently.

"Hans?" Elsa said carefully.

The man didn't lift his head from Anna's neck but the tension that obviously froze him in place said he was listening carefully. Anna crooned softly and slowly ran her hands up and down his back in soothing gestures.

"Do you remember the plan?" Elsa asked.

Hans slowly nodded, still not looking up. Elsa smiled faintly. Her sister was irresistibly comforting even at her loudest and most boisterous moments she was more like sunshine than anything Elsa could hope to be. She wasn't too surprised that Hans was finding comfort in her arms.

"Er…" Kristoff said nervously. "I'm helping you. So don't…don't panic." The unspoken please was evident in his words.

All three jumped when Hans let out a bark of a laugh. He was still holding onto Anna but one green eye looked up from her shoulder.

"I'll try." He said in that cracking voice.

Anna smiled sweetly and cuddled Hans to her. He stiffened even more before melting minutely. His arms gave up on their weak hold and merely dropped limply to the ground but he leaned into Anna as if she was the only thing holding him up which was most likely the truth.

"All right." Elsa said briskly. All eyes snapped to hers. She gave a truly frigid smile as she spoke, "Let's get out of here."


End file.
